On 31 July 2024, the training on Regional Resilience Data & Analytics Service (RDAS) was conducted back-to-back with the Regional Training Workshop for the South Asia HydrometForum Forecasters’ Forum Expanded Service Support and IBF Working Group meeting held in Bangkok, Thailand.
13 participants from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in South Asia participated physically in the training, while 72 others from Asia and the Pacific joined virtually.
Ruby Rose Policarpio, Project Director of CARE Component 1, opened the session by emphasizing the goal of RDAS, which is to be a gateway for multi-disciplinary data availability and multi-dimensional use, analysis, and application of such datasets for understanding and managing sectoral risks and opportunities arising from a changing climate and changing sectoral landscapes. She further underscored that to address in-situ data blackspots, RDAS endeavors to make available reanalysis/remote sensing data to fill gaps.
Sanjil Shrestha, Data Visualization Expert of CARE Component 1, led the demonstration of the various features of RDAS, and guided participants in using such features hands-on. Among the features/tools that the participants were trained to use were CMIP Viewer, Earth Engine, data charts; and customized GloFAS, ISIMIP, PyAEZ, and LHASA.
The RDAS has a repository of data from verified and open access sources, so it is publicly accessible.
On top of climate and sectoral data, value is added through analytics and predictive tools that use available datasets in RDAS and/or data from stakeholders themselves. These give RDAS users the mechanisms to analyze 2 or more datasets to understand patterns between climate and sectoral parameters, and anticipate and prepare for potential future conditions.
In the coming months, gatherings will be convened to foster deeper relationships among RDAS Communities of Practice, as well as to train users on RADS analytics and predictive tools.
More than 200 datasets sourced from various regional and global platforms are now available in the RDAS. As an evolving system, RDAS is expected to include more datasets and tools, as part of RIMES efforts to address stakeholders’ requirements.