Climate body pushes for integrated disaster impact forecasts

MANILA, Philippines — The Climate Change Commission (CCC) has called for further improvements in weather forecasting and early warning services to lessen the risk of damage and loss of lives during calamities.

Climate secretary Emmanuel de Guzman said they are currently working with the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) and other institutions to establish a national platform that will integrate all existing risk information during calamities.

“The massive loss of lives and properties caused by previous disasters calls for a paradigm shift from traditional single hazard-based forecasting to multi-hazard, impact-based forecasting,” said De Guzman.

“In this era of climate change, it is not enough to merely forecast what hazards may occur in the future, but also the probable impacts of these hazards,” he added.

De Guzman noted that existing early warning systems in the country are deemed inefficient because available risk information is fragmented in different institutions.

Agencies that handle different information on hazards and risks include PAGASA (hydro-meteorological), Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (seismic), Mines and Geosciences Bureau (landslide), University of the Philippines-Project NOAH (flood) and National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (hazard maps).

“The establishment of a National Integrated Risk Information System will address the inefficiencies in risk information generation and exchange, and early warning dissemination,” said De Guzman.

“This platform will help our communities to be weather-ready and climate-smart,” he said.