THE third International Conference on Climate Services (ICCS) opens today, Wednesday, December 4, 2013 at the Montego Bay Conference Centre in the second city.

The event, which lasts until Friday December 6, will provide an opportunity for experts from around the world to discuss how the use of climate information can improve decision-making in order to help manage the impact of drought, improve coastal resilience, and to mitigate the incidence of climate-sensitive disease.

High on the agenda will be talks on the challenges and opportunities presented by the transition from research and pilot activities to sustained services.

“The conference represents an opportunity for Jamaica to showcase its activity on climate services and to discuss opportunities for advancement with a wide range of potential partners and collaborators,” said Jeffrey Spooner, director of the Meteorological Services.

Climate services speaks to the interpretation and dissemination of climate information to various stakeholders with a view to helping prevent the economic setbacks and humanitarian disasters associated with climate extremes and long-term climate change. Climate services informs policy, sustainable development, and improved climate information products such as predictions, and outlooks.

Climate services information can include the timing of growing seasons, sea-level changes and glacier coverage, and how these may impact agriculture, infrastructure, public health and other sectors.

Participants in the Montego Bay symposium will include representatives from a wide range of local and international organisations, including the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation, the United States National Centre for Atmospheric Research, the German Climate Service Centre, the World Meteorological Organisation and the International Research Institute for Climate & Society (IRI).