In Chapter 35 we have identified indicators of particular use. Weather forecasts aid adaptation. Improved forecasts on all time scales, from hours to weeks and seasons, help. If warned a few days ahead where and when a hurricane or frost will strike, people can retreat from the shore or buy fuel to warm an orchard. If people know a few weeks ahead whether the season will be dry, they can choose the appropriate crop or store water.
Accurate forecasts make all climates safer and more productive.
Since the modern science of meteorology began a century ago, forecasting has gradually improved, and there are reasons to be confident that further improvements can be achieved. In the greenhouse issue, the United States and other nations should find strong, sustained motivation to improve forecasting and the data and research that make the forecasting possible. The quality of weather analyses and forecasts in many poor countries, especially in the tropics, is markedly lower than in industrial countries, particularly in the northern hemisphere. Advances in numerical modeling and extension of technology for monitoring in tropical regions can cause improvements. Improve Institutions Consider Efforts to Advance Regional Mobility of People, Capital, and Goods Expanding the territory over which impacts are absorbed and adaptations can occur has historically been a major way to lessen the adverse consequences of climate and weather.