Goal

· Provision of timely and reliable climate prediction

· Strengthening climate information services for the Asia-Pacific region

Basic Functions

· Operation of climate prediction systems and provision of climate information services for the Asia-Pacific region

· Operation of on-line climate information services and response & analysis of user demands

· Improvement of climate prediction and climate information service systems

· Production, collection, distribution, and management of climate prediction data

· Stable operation and systematic management of computer resources and info-communications

Main Research

APCC’s Climate Prediction Department (CDP) has established a well-validated multi-model ensemble (MME) prediction system through international collaboration, and disseminates monthly issued global predictions with temperature and precipitation for the upcoming 6-month period to the APEC member economies. APCC also provides information on current climate conditions and verification. Currently, 15 leading operational climate centers and research institutes from 11 countries around the world participate in the APCC MME seasonal climate prediction. Since 2013, APCC began to release forecasts on the Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Oscillation (BSISO) in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Working Group on Numerical Experimentation (WGNE), and the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) Task Force. 2-3 week BSISO forecasts over the Asia region are provided and updated on a daily basis during the May to October period. For more user-friendly index-based BSISO forecast information, APCC also provides probabilistic forecasts for heavy rainfall in Asia, which is caused by the intraseasonal oscillation.

As part of its mission, APCC develops online climate information services to help users take advantage of climate information and forecasts. These services include the APCC Data Service System (ADSS), Climate Information toolKit (CLIK), APCC Integrated Modeling Solution (AIMS), etc. In order to expand our climate information services and technologies, APCC is continuously working to develop user-oriented climate service platforms and to conduct training workshops for users in different fields that utilize the APCC climate information services.

※  MME: A technique of integrating multiple forecast models from various operational and research centers worldwide in order to increase the predictability of climate prediction information​

※ BSISO: BSISO forecast plays an important role in predicting the beginning of and the characteristics of the Asian summer monsoon. The oscillation is a large-scale convection, with a period of 15 to 60 days, that originates over the Indian Ocean, gradually traveling eastward and northward with a diverse structure. It affects the beginning of the Asian summer monsoon and the circulation of atmosphere and weather patterns.