25 September 2009

Warning About Impending Droughts

System seeks to improve public awareness of drought

(begin transcript)

Listen to this Podcast (MP3)

Narrator:

This is an America.gov podcast.

For print versions of articles, multimedia, and subscription information, visit www.america.gov.

Since about 1870, when the U.S. secretary of war established what is now the U.S. National Weather Service, people have received some warning of hurricanes and floods. At first, people received those messages by magnetic telegraph. Today, communications and climate science have given us a much better understanding of weather and its effects. In 2006, the National Integrated Drought Information System Act was signed into law. This system makes it easier to warn farmers, wildlife ecologists, water resource managers and local officials about impending droughts.

The drought information system is an interagency and interstate coordination program to improve public awareness of drought. The system begins by coordinating existing information on the impact of drought and how climate variability and change affect drought. Early warning involves drought forecasting based on climate projections and the area’s drought history, developing possible outcomes for coming drought events, and estimating how long a drought might last and how severe it might be.

The system links the results of technology and a broad range of parties involved in drought planning and response. Cooperation required among agencies includes collecting data, developing standards for modeling work, and conducting training programs. The U.S. federal agencies involved range from America’s space agency, NASA, to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture among others.

Also involved are regional, local, tribal and private organizations, including the Western Governors Association, which drove the establishment of the drought information system. These organizations wanted to create a national entity to highlight and coordinate monitoring, forecasting and drought planning and preparedness.

Some droughts last a single season and affect small areas. But the paleoclimate record shows that, like climate change itself, some droughts have continued for decades and affected millions of square kilometers.

Scientists and officials working on the drought information system are advising officials from India about establishing that country’s own drought early warning system. They have also been approached by interested water resource officials from Australia and the Mediterranean and Caribbean regions.

This podcast is produced by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Information Programs. Links to other Internet sites or opinions expressed should not be considered an endorsement of other content and views.

(end transcript)