The vulnerability of sensitive European regions to hydro-meteorological extremes has
increased dramatically over the past few decades. Extreme weather and climate events are
increasingly happening worldwide due to ongoing climate change. As a consequence, hydro- meteorological disaster events are affecting the European economy, environment and
society, with impacts on food production, food distribution infrastructure, livelihood assets
and human health, in both rural and urban areas. Meanwhile, climate services have started
to be developed to further anticipate the impacts of climate variability and to apply climate
forecasts in different sectors, such as agriculture and water management. However, connections between climate information users and providers are still weak. The
CLIMALERT project emerges to provide climate information in a format that prospective
users find it easy to understand and/or incorporate into decision-making. The project main
goals are: i) strengthen the link between climate research, water resources and the
agriculture sector to assist the management of natural resources, enhance agricultural
livelihoods and reduce underlying causes of vulnerability, ii) improve the techniques and
tools currently used to incorporate weather and climate information into risk assessment and
decision making in agriculture and water sectors, and, iii) contribute to assist decision- makers in the implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies. In this talk, we will
present the project framework, the study areas, the engagement with stakeholders, the
selection of climate and hydrological indicators, and the development of an alert system
platform that aims to contribute to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities for the agriculture and
water management sectors, providing economically valuable services and long-term benefits
to farmers and societyERA4CS/0004/2016 - CLIMALER
