Data on climate and Extreme weather for the Central AnDEs (DECADE)

Changes in present and future climate cause new risks and challenges for people all over the world. High mountain countries like Bolivia or Peru are generally affected in a more severe way than the global average. To face related challenges and to reduce vulnerability, ongoing and future processes must be understood on a natural scientific, a social and an economical level. An important requirement for such studies is the availability of reliable climate data. In Bolivia, however, as in many developing countries, measurements are scarce. Further challenges to get a good data base are the complex terrain and the strong gradients of different climates over short distances. While substantial effort has been devoted to study the effects of climate change (e.g. glacier retreat or water availability) and adaption to a changing climate (especially in the field of agriculture), little has been done towards building capacities in the area of producing and processing climate data and creating the needed scientific basis for deriving climate products such as hazard maps. The project aims to step in the gap and asses and develop quality control, break detection and homogenization methods adapted for the Central Andes (the projects deals with Bolivia and southeastern Peru) and potentially other Andean countries. Based on the produced data set, climate and weather extremes will be analyzed. Furthermore, easy understandable products will be presented and made available to decision makers and professionals. If the right measures and planning based on the data products are taken, the public in the Central Andes will profit of the findings by a potentially increased personal security in respect to meteorological extreme events and by an enhanced security in food production. As the project includes training of local researchers, the scientific capacities will be strengthened and the sustainable operation and maintenance of climate services will be ensured. The proposed project complements and strengthens other ongoing projects. Swiss, Bolivian and Peruvian research partners will work closely together to achieve the best and most sustainable results and benefits.