The NEIKER technology centre, together with other European agents, has participated in the development of the ClimAlert digital platform for predicting water-related climate risks. This tool is already accessible and will contribute to more efficient public-private water management and to preventing soil erosion due to climate change. The initiative aims to achieve the objectives set out in the EU Strategy for Soil Protection 2030 and contributes to more efficient water management.
In a planet increasingly characterised by meteorological uncertainty, the ClimAlert platform, in whose development NEIKER, a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance (BRTA) has participated, emerges as a solution to keep society informed about adverse atmospheric phenomena in one of the most affected areas of the planet, the southern European region known as SUDOE, which includes the south of France, Spain and Portugal.
It is a digital tool based on weather data from various sources and open-access data that provides early warnings of extreme weather conditions such as floods, droughts, risk of soil erosion or fires. ClimAlert aims to respond to the increasingly evident effects of climate change in the region, which require advanced and innovative measures to be taken.
Technology for better water management
“The platform makes it possible to monitor climate variables such as temperatures or precipitation in a specific area, both in the past and in the near future.The tool is already accessible to the general public through this website. In order to access this data, it is necessary to register and sign up for some of the pilot areas where the algorithms included in the platform have been deployed.
Proven usefulness
Since its launch, the ClimAlert platform has proven its usefulness on several occasions. In the first half of this year, it has been very useful for monitoring drought in the Basque Country and has provided valuable information for decision-making by Basque public administrations. And in 2021 ClimAlert minimised the impact of a flood in France, when the Garonne river reached one of the highest flood thresholds in its history.