Climate information for humanitarian agencies: some basic principles

Since 2005, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre have had an ongoing partnership with the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) to connect end-users with providers of climate information. This partnership has enabled and encouraged the uptake of climate information in the humanitarian sector. From the perspective of the climate service provider, attempts to address problems of salience, credibility and legitimacy have been made by adopting the following set of principles: prioritize immediate user needs; provide only information that is relevant to the user context; provide decision support; right-scale rather than down-scale; and maintain ownership and partnership in design. Examples are presented of how these principles have been applied, highlighting not only the need to improve forecasts and their presentation, but also to address obstacles to the practical use of climate information.