Slashgeo

Pierre Marchand writes "Dear All, Here is a link to free and easy on-line access to 102 years of monthly climate data through either a webmap or direct input of coordinates. The coverage is global. http://dw.iwmi.org/dataplatform/ClickandPlot.aspx Please kindly pass the link around in the community to people you know could be interested. The rationale behind this service is to provide easy access to location specific climate queries – so that you don’t have to download the whole world’s coverage when you actually just need one or a few location(s) ;^) – for data rich countries there might be other local datasets that are prefered but for data poor countries this is a must. This service is part of IDIS, the water, food and environment data sharing portal. As indicated in the available metadata this dataset was made open to the public by the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia, UK. Full credit and description is given in the metadata. Best regards, Pierre PS this service uses a popup and was designed to be used with MS Internet Explorer - we are aware there are issues with Firefox and Safari (Mac) – sincere apologies for this – cross-browser compliance is on top of our to-do list."

The Map Room links to a profile of Kirstin Dow, co-author of The Atlas of Climate Change. From the profile: "One of the goals that Dow and Downing had when creating the book, was to make it's contents accessible for everyone, as they feel it is information everyone should know. They've accomplished that through a combination of clear, concise writing and colorful, easy-to-comprehend graphic elements. Loaded with basic, yet effective maps and charts, as well as photographs, the book is a user-friendly reference guide, as well as an interesting and informative read." I own two copies of this atlas. The geographic content is not omnipresent nor detailed, but it is definitely worth the read: well designed, informative maps, great content and even cheap price. I recommend it.

The role of Earth Observation satellites in combating climate change is being highlighted at the United Nations climate change conference where thousands of delegates from more than 180 countries are gathered in Bali, Indonesia to begin negotiations of an international emissions-cutting agreement to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, whose first commitment period ends in 2012. See this e-news from the European Space Agency (ESA) : http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMS3HBL2AF_planet_0.html

The Free Geography Tools blog links to a clickable world climate map. From the blog: "[...] click on a location, and get a plot by month of temperature (max/average/min), rainfall, and average number of hours of sunshine. A fourth tab supposedly gives you “Experiences”, a link list of things to do at that location"

The EOPortal website mentions the value for African countries of the FAO Country Profiles maps. To access the maps, select a country and then choose "More maps..." in the right-side column. From EOPortal: "The website profiles fantastic maps for African countries on topics such as: administrative boundaries, sustainable development (ie population, temperature and rainfall), economic situation, agriculture sector (ie relief, livestock, arable land, land cover), forestry sector, fishery sector and technical cooperation. The system offers decision-makers around the world a fast and reliable way to access country-specific information without the need to search individual databases and systems. It gives added-value to FAO's vast store of information by providing an easy-to-use interface with particular emphasis on interactive maps and graphics."