The Expert Team on Sector-specific Climate Indices (ET-SCI) re-established at the 17th session of the Commission for Climatology (CCl) as part of its Focus Area on Climate Services for Societal Benefits, contributes to the implementation of the Climate Services Information System (CSIS) pillar of GFCS by developing and promoting the use of globally consistent, sector-specific climate indices, which are of particular interest to socio-economic sectors, and help characterizing climate sensitivity of various sectors.
The ET-SCI has developed a number of climate indices for use in sector applications, based on dialogue and cooperation with experts from health, agriculture, and water sectors, in close collaboration with the (now disbanded) CCl Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ET-CCDI), which developed RClimDex software for the calculation of a number of climate indices based on daily maximum and minimum temperatures and precipitation. The ET-SCI has since added a number of indices recommended by sector experts to the set of indices in RClimDex and produced a new software package ClimPACT. The current version of the software (ClimPACTv2) produces indices primarily on heat waves, droughts, and extreme rainfall, and is in the process of being expanded to cover other relevant indices. A primary mission of the ET-SCI is to promote the use of consistent, sector-specific climate data and indices in tandem with sector-relevant data, through outreach and workshops at the regional and local level.
The meeting of ET-SCI is intended to begin the process of establishing a developers user group, produce a 10-year strategic plan for ClimPACT development, promotion, inclusion in the Climate Services Toolkit (CST), and develop the concept of demonstration workshop. It is also intended to design training and outreach materials associated with sector-specific indices and the ClimPACT tool, building on the achievements of the Team in the previous intersession period and utilizing the expertise of the current ET-SCI members.