New Atlas bring scientific evidence about the climate change in Laos
After nearly five years of modelling and IT work, the Climate and Agro climate Atlas of Lao PDR is was launched on 3rd of May 2022 as a product of the FAO’s GEF-funded project "Strengthening agro-climatic monitoring and information systems to the adaptation to climate change and food security in Lao PDR" (SAMIS project) implemented by the Department of Meteorology and by the Department of Agricultural Land Management.
The Atlas provides a one-stop platform for visualizing existing climate data which can be used by multiple sectors, and is a climate service that brings complex climate data to users in an easy-to-grasp format. The added value of the Atlas lies in the fact that it is demand-driven: it translates complex data into a format that corresponds to the needs of the decision makers.
The availability of climatological data in the country has being increased by developing advanced climate databases, such as the Laos Climate Services for Agriculture (LaCSA).
The capacity to manage this data has being developed throughout the year with the support of various partners. Advanced statistical capacities on climate services and data treatment that will remain available and guarantee the sustainability of the product.
Also, climatological data in map form are now available for free in the Land Resources Information Management System (LRIMS).
Dr.Kwang-Hyung Kim of the Seoul National University, scientific responsible for the Atlas, detailed the situation of the last 30 years showing that climate change is here and it’s a serious challenge. More in detail, minimum temperature have increased faster than maximum temperature, and the increasing trends of both temperatures are more obvious in the North. Rainfall, instead, does not follow the same trend in the north and in the south of the country, with a more marked increase in the south.
The meeting was opened by H.E. Mr Chanthanet Boulapha, Vice-Minister MONRE, who highlighted how “the data provide valuable information beyond the agricultural sector, and they are easy to access and user friendly”. For the FAO, Mr Nasar Hayat, FAO Representative, presented her remarks stating “information such as the ones available in the Atlas can contribute will potentially will improve farmers' livelihood and rural population resilience”.
Dr Manzul Kumar Hazarika, , Director of the Geoinformatic Center of the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand referred to the importance of “institutional capacity development related to advanced climate data downscaling”.
Other participants included all relevant MAF and MONRE Departments as well as MLSW, Ministry of Energy and Mines, Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and the Faculty of Meteorology and Hydrology and the Faculty of Agriculture of the Lao National University.
The Atlas is available in English language at https://www.fao.org/3/cb9713en/cb9713en.pdf and in Lao language at https://www.fao.org/3/cb9713lo/cb9713lo.pdf.