Climate action

Goal 13: Climate action

Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

The year 2017 was one of the three warmest on record and was 1.1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial period. An analysis by the World Meteorological Organization shows that the five-year average global temperature from 2013 to 2017 was also the highest on record. The world continues to experience rising sea levels, extreme weather conditions (the North Atlantic hurricane season was the costliest ever recorded) and increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases. This calls for urgent and accelerated action by countries as they implement their commitments to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

MODIS Sea Surface Temperature (SST) monthly anomaly

Monitoring of sea surface temperature (SST) provides fundamental information on the global climate system and for the study of marine ecosystems. This layer compares the SST value of the last full month with the long-term mean SST. A positive anomaly (warm colours) means the monthly SST is warmer...

The Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) uses satellite observations to detect active fires and thermal anomalies. They deliver this information to decision makers in near real-time (within 3 hours of satellite...

River floods are recognized as one of the major causes of economic damages and loss of human lives worldwide. Quantifying flood hazard is an essential component of resilience planning, prevention measures, emergency response, and mitigation, including insurance. This map depicts flood prone areas...

Daily Coral Bleaching Heat Stress Alert Area

Healthy coral reefs provide a home for millions of aquatic species and numerous ecosystemic services. Yet they are severely threatened. When stressed, corals expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues and become white (bleached) and vulnerable. The NOAA Coral Reef Watch daily global 5km...

Evapotranspiration and carbon fluxes between the biosphere and the atmosphere are routinely expressed in terms of the Leaf Area Index (LAI) of the canopy. Monitoring the change of LAI is essential for assessing the evolution of the vegetation over Africa. LAI anomalies relative to the average values...

Anomalies for Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation (FAPAR)

The Fraction of Photosynthetically Active Radiation Absorbed (FAPAR) is used to track the overall primary productivity associated with atmospheric CO2 fixation. FAPAR anomalies relative to the average between 2003 and 2010 show large surface variations, in terms of values and coverage, of vegetation...

Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI-3)

Droughts affect millions of people in the world each year and have long-lasting socioeconomic impacts. They can occur over most parts of the world, even in wet and humid regions, and can profoundly impact agriculture, basic household welfare, tourism, ecosystems and the services they provide. The...

Ocean temperature is related to ocean heat content (the energy absorbed by the ocean), an important topic in the study of global warming. Monitoring of sea surface temperature (SST) from earth-orbiting infrared radiometers has had a wide impact on oceanographic science. It provides fundamental...

Monitoring of sea surface temperature (SST) provides fundamental information on the global climate system and for the study of marine ecosystems. For example, it helps estimating heat stress conducive to coral bleaching, the process by which they expel the symbiotic algae living in their tissues and...

Substantial crop losses occur at various stages along the postharvest value chain. Losses result from poor handling and storage practices combined with limited awareness, infrastructure, and knowledge. The African Postharvest Losses Information System (APHLIS) (www.aphlis.net) is the foremost...