Climate data made more accessible to help construction users tackle climate change

The Met Office, the UK’s national weather service, has recently introduced the Climate Data Portal. Its primary objective is to offer the construction sector with improved accessibility to climate data and resources.

Powered by Esri UK’s geospatial technology, the portal simplifies the process of integrating open climate data with users’ own data (Photo: Esri UK)

This is said to enable users to have a better understanding and response to the impacts of climate change. As part of the Met Office’s broader strategy to optimize the utility of its data, the portal offers 60 diverse data layers alongside guidance and information.

Powered by Esri UK’s geospatial technology, the portal simplifies the process of integrating open climate data with users’ own data, allowing them to anticipate the future impact of extreme weather conditions such as heatwaves, floods, or droughts on their operations.

The primary beneficiaries are expected to be government agencies, construction firms, engineering companies, urban planners, land use organizations, transportation providers, and energy industries.

By combining the expertise and authoritative data from the Met Office with Esri’s geospatial tools, the portal presents detailed scientific climate projections in user-friendly formats, easily visualizable and analyzable within GIS and non-spatial applications.

The data can also be seamlessly integrated into business processes, facilitating improved decision-making. Spatial analysis can be conducted at global, regional, or local levels, enabling the development of location-specific action plans.

“The Climate Data Portal is a giant step forward in making climate data more usable for UK stakeholders,” commented Pete Wilkinson, Managing Director of Esri UK.

“Climate change presents a major challenge and this challenge is a geographic one. Using geospatial technology as a delivery mechanism for climate data makes it quickly accessible and usable in spatial and temporal analysis, helping to identify at-risk areas and develop location-specific action plans.”