April 7-9, 2005, Beijing, China
Background
Great progress on seasonal to interannual prediction has been made worldwide in the past decades. To facilitate prediction of Earth system variability and change for use in a range of practical applications, benefit and value to society has been the target of the new strategic framework of The World Climate Research Program (WCRP) during 2005-2015. Yet, prediction on seasonal to interannual time scales is still believed to be one of the major challenges many Asian countries face, in terms of not only the prediction skill, but also the capability of interpreting the prediction product for decision making in different areas. In light of this consideration, The Regional Association II of WMO (RAII) welcomed activities directed at examining and improving capabilities in seasonal prediction and related fields, and requested that benefits be transferred to the Region through training workshops and through holding Regional Climate Outlook Forums. (See the appendix XIII-RA II/Pink 5.3.3 of the 13th Session of WMO Regional Association II (Asia), Hongkong 7-15 December 2004) .
As an immediate response, the China Meteorological Administration（CMA） proposed to organize the Forum on Regional Climate Monitoring-Assessment -Prediction for Asia (FOCRAII) during the 13th Session of Regional Association II (Asia) held on December 7-15, 2004 (See the appendix XIII-RA II/Pink 5.3.3 of the 13th Session of WMO Regional Association II (Asia), Hongkong 7-15 December 2004). The main purposes are to offer a review of the limitations and prospects of seasonal to interannual climate forecasting methodologies and systems, and to provide a platform to share the experience and forecasting products for Asia from the climate prediction centers around the world. As you can see from the enclosed preliminary program, besides all members in RA II, a few other countries and some leading climate centers around the world have also been invited to join this forum.
FOCRAII consists of a two-day training course (April 7-8, 2005) and a one-day workshop (April 9, 2005). The two-day training course is intended for participants with strong skills in climate science and who are or will be in a position to work with climate predictions at their home institution. For this course, several internationally well known experts will be invited to give lectures. In addition, the participants will be given the opportunity to interact with the experts and to have discussions among themselves. Visit to the forecasting facilities at the CMA will be organized. Scientists from Beijing Climate Centre (BCC) will give a detailed introduction on BCC’s operational climate monitoring, seasonal to interannual prediction and climate impact assessment. For the workshop, the focus will be on presentation and discussion of the climate forecasting products for Asia (atmospheric circulation, temperature, precipitation and ENSO etc.). Both oral and poster presentations can be scheduled at the workshop. An abstract should be submitted in addition to the presentation form.
It should be noted that FOCRAII is different from the existing annual joint meeting on East Asian Monsoon Prediction proposed and organized by CMA, Japan Meteorological Agency and Korea Meteorological Administration in the last decade, in terms of the objective, the content and the participating countries. Therefore, FOCRAII is not a replacement of the joint Summer Monsoon Meeting. In fact, the preparation for joint Summer Monsoon meeting this year is being undertaken by CMA.
An updated program of the training course and workshop is available at the BCC home page (http://bcc.cma.gov.cn/en/).
Sponsors and Organization
The workshop is organized and co-sponsored by the BCC of CMA, in collaboration with the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.
Important Dates
· February 10, 2005: Issue the first circular
· February 25, 2005: Issue the second circular
· March 10, 2005: Deadline for receipt of registration form
· March 25, 2005: Issue the third circular
· March 30, 2005: Deadline for receipt of abstract
· April 6, 2005: Registration in Beijing
Place and Date
The training course and the workshop will be held in Beijing, China at the Beijing Climate Centre, China Meteorological Administration from Thursday, April 7 through Saturday, April 9, 2005.
Hotel information
Block reservation has been made at Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing (5 star). Please fill in the form in annex 3 for reservation.
Hotel Nikko New Century Beijing is an internationally managed five-star luxury hotel conveniently situated in Beijing’s scenic West End. The hotel is ideal for business and leisure travelers.
Location: West End of Beijing, near the high-tech IT zone, key government ministries, the National Library, and Beijing Zoo. Convenient access to the Second, Third, and Fourth Ring Roads. Twelve minutes walk to CMA.
Address:
6 Southern Road, Capital Gym
Haidian District
Beijing 100044
Tel: +86 10 6849 2001
Fax: +86 10 6849 1103
Weather
Beijing has a continental climate with clearly defined seasons. The weather in Beijing during the conference will be fairly pleasant, but it is generally dry and can be occasional windy. The average temperature is about 14.2℃. The mean maximum is 20℃ and minimum 7℃. The average precipitation during April is 21.4 mm with 4.6 days of rain.
Visa Application
Visas are required to enter China. Please kindly provide information as required in the Form in Annex.
Correspondence should be addressed to
Ms. Ying Jiang or Ms. Yan Zhang
Division of Research and Services
Beijing Climate Centre
China Meteorological Administration
46 South Zhongguancun Avenue
Haidian, Beijing 100081, China
Telephone : +86-10-68400072; +86-10-68406107
Fax : +86-10-62176804
