US proposes new climate service
The Obama administration proposed a new climate service on Monday that would provide Americans with predictions on how global warming will affect everything from drought to sea levels.
The Obama administration proposed a new climate service on Monday that would provide Americans with predictions on how global warming will affect everything from drought to sea levels.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Service, modelled loosely on the 140-year-old National Weather Service, would provide forecasts to farmers, regional water managers and businesses affected by changing climate conditions.
The move is essentially a reorganisation of NOAA, and would bring the agency’s climate research arm together with its more consumer-oriented services.
It would not come with a boost in funding.
A Web portal launched Monday at www.climate.gov provides a single entry point to NOAA’s climate information, data, products and services.
The effort was announced at a time when skeptics have become increasingly effective in attacking the credibility of global warming forecasts.