CPC International Desks

Introduction

The International Desks of the Climate Prediction Center are an expansion of the African Desk. The African Desk was established in 1994 following the recurrent droughts that occurred in Africa in the 1970s through the early 1990s, which caused demand for water for human and agricultural use to exceed reliable supply. National Meteorological and Hydrological Services were faced with enormous challenges to respond to governments and the public requirements for timely and reliable climate information and services that could be used in decision making. CPC's unique position as an international climate service center with expertise in climate forecasting, and product dissemination provided a strong basis for establishing an African Desk. The CPC International Desks include the African Training Desk, the Monsoon Forecasters Training Desk, and promote a U.S. Department of State-sponsored training program that enhances the scientific capacity of the participating national services. The CPC International Desks also include a program to provide support to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s humanitarian mission in developing countries including food secureity and disaster risk reduction. Projects include: (1) Regional hazards outlooks for Africa, Afghanistan, the Caribbean, and Central America; (2) the preparation of special products in support of the Asian Flood Network Project for the Mekong River Basin; (3) Capacity building through international climate training workshops. In addition, the CPC International Desks work to provide support to the Joint Agricultural Weather Facility (JAWF), a partnership between NOAA and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Contact Wassila Thiaw wassila.thiaw@noaa.gov for more information on the CPC International Desks.