Press release 2012-09-26 at 12:00
Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finnish Environment Institute and Aalto University inform
Ilmasto-opas.fi, a new website bringing together climate information under one address, was opened today, 20 October. The website provides information about the Finnish climate and climate change, analysed down to individual regions. The Swedish and English versions of the site will be launched later this year.
All sectors of climate change receive equal attention on the site: Apart from scientific background information, the site presents concrete means for mitigation and adaptation. The material on the website has been prepared by Finland’s leading climate researchers and experts, and the contents will be supplemented and developed gradually.
The website contains approximately 400 pages of reliable information about climate change, presented in an easily understandable form. The articles have been checked by an editorial board with experts in various fields.
Information about the past and future climate at regional level
In addition to information concerning the whole of Finland, Ilmasto-opas provides more specific data at regional and local levels, for instance, about temperatures and precipitation for individual municipalities. The site also includes scenarios on how climate change will affect circumstances in each region during the coming decades. Observations and models demonstrate how climate change impacts on the conditions and the environment of a selected region.
Users of the site can quickly get a general idea of the impacts of climate change throughout Finland, and they can weigh concrete measures and solutions of their choice for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Users can themselves select the region, time period and emission scenario that interest them.
Segments tailored for target groups
Ilmasto-opas also has segments tailored for specific target groups. These take into account each group’s specific needs and viewpoint. The first segment to be opened is that for municipalities and municipal residents, since municipalities play an important role in providing for and adapting to climate change. Thanks to the site, municipal decision-makers can see at a glance how climate change will affect various sectors in their municipalities, thereby enabling them to evaluate measures and solutions that would meet their local needs.
Information from research institutions
The Ilmasto-opas.fi website is produced as a three-year EU Life+ project (LIFE07 INF/FIN/000152 CCCRP) by the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Finnish Environment Institute and the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies of Aalto University.
The website will be maintained and developed together by several bodies, e.g. the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the Finnish Environment Institute, the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministry of Transport and Communications, and the Finnish Innovation Fund Sitra. The Swedish and English versions of the site will be launched towards the end of this year.
Additional information
Finnish Meteorological Institute
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Juha A. Karhu, tel. 050 359 2183,
firstname.lastname@fmi.fi [Juhaa Karhu]
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Hanna Niemi-Hugaerts, tel. 050 361 3315,
firstname.lastname@fmi.fi
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Reija Ruuhela, tel. 0500 424 599,
firstname.lastname@fmi.fi
Finnish Environment Institute
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Timothy R. Carter, tel. +358 40 740 5403,
firstname.lastname@ymparisto.fi [Tim Carter]
Aalto University
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Simo Haanpää, tel. 050 512 4557,
firstname.lastname@aalto.fi
Climate guide - Ilmasto-opas.fi (only in Finnish until the end of 2011)