29th Session of South Asian Climate Outlook Forum(SASCOF-29) October to December (OND) Season
25-26 September 2024
andClimate Services User Forum (CSUF)
3 October 2024

(to be held online)
Concept NoteBackground:South Asian climate is influenced by both tropical (October-December) and temperate midlatitude (December-February) circulation systems during the winter months. Southern parts ofSouth Asia, including peninsular India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and southern coastal areas ofMyanmar are influenced by North East Monsoon (Re-establishment of prevalent north easterlytrade-wind regime over South Asia associated with the southward movement of the ITCZ),
while extra-tropical activity dominated by “Western disturbances” influence the northern partsof the region including Afghanistan, Pakistan, north India, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh andMyanmar. It is therefore necessary that seasonal forecasts for the winter season be issued at
two different times - one during September/October for the southern region and the otherduring November/December for the northern region.
The crucial role of winter rains and the growing recognition of the benefits of SASCOFsin articulating and sharing seasonal climate information has led to the need for regularly
conducting winter SASCOFs. Winter sessions of SASCOFs were started in 2015 keeping inview the importance of winter seasonal climate to key user sectors. The first winter SASCOF
session was held in October 2015, at Chennai, Tamil Nadu India, followed by Nay Pyi Taw,Myanmar in 2016, Male, Maldives in 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2018 andThiruvananthapuram, India in 2019. Last Four years (2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023), SASCOF
October to December (OND) Sessions were held online.
Objectives:
The objective of the forum is to prepare consensus seasonal climate information on a regional
scale that provides a consistent basis for preparing national-level outlooks. Such platforms
also serve to interact with the user sector to understand and enhance the use of climate
information.
An online session of SASCOF-29 is tentatively scheduled during 25-26 September
2024. The associated Climate Services User Forum (CSUF) is scheduled on 3 October
2024. The Regional Climate Centre (RCC), Pune of India Meteorological Department (IMD)
jointly organize the meeting with Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early- warning System for
Asia and Africa (RIMES), UK Met Office (UKMO) and World Meteorological Organization(WMO).

Expected Outcome:
SASCOF-29 will prepare a climate outlook for the 2024 winter season covering themonths from October to December. NMHSs from SASCOF member countries Afghanistan,Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as well as
several regional and global experts, will jointly prepare this consensus outlook.
The CSUF session will focus on interface with users from the various application
sectors to interpret seasonal climate information and understand their specific needs with aview to further customizing climate information.
Overview of the Agenda
Day 1 and 2: September 25-26, 2024 - Technical session will consider available seasonal
prediction output from WMO Global Producing Centers (GPCs) and the Lead Centre for LRF
MME together with presentation of country forecasts and discussions.
(Intermediately, finalizing draft consensus statement for seasonal climate outlook through Email communications with SASCOF participants.)
Day 3: October 3, 2024: User-oriented sessions focused on sharing, understanding, andinterpreting the seasonal climate outlook.
Participation:
Experts from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) from all South Asian
countries, experts from international organizations like WMO and RIMES, Regional Climate
Center (RCC), Tokyo Climate Centre (JMA), UK Met Office (UKMO) and other WMO Global
Producing Centers (GPC). Participation from IMD and Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology(IITM), the National Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast (NCMRWF), the National
Center for Ocean Information Service (INCOIS), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and World HealthOrganization (WHO) are going to participate in the session.