Role and need for climate information services in climate change adaptation

Climate Information Services, a key platform for reducing the impacts of climate vulnerability, is an important source of information access and knowledge sharing. The current climate information services in Sri Lanka provide forecasted climatic variables, primarily rainfall, wind, and river water levels, to various end-users at daily to weekly temporal scales. However, the dissemination of timely and reliable information needs significant improvements for climate risk reduction and adaptation activities. Moreover, data-driven water governance can facilitate more informed and efficient decisions on water allocation by leveraging data and analytical tools that balance the needs of different stakeholders and promote sustainable water management. This chapter describes the current status and gaps in climate information services and data-driven water governance, and assesses the challenges and prospects for future adaptation activities.