The private sectors see opportunities in climate adaptation and services. (Image: iStock)
Each year could now be the coolest summer of our lifetime. With global average temperature surpassing the 1.5°C threshold in 2024, extreme weather is expected to grow more frequent and severe. This series, “Climate adaptation in action,” explores Taiwan’s policy pathways and challenges in climate adaptation, while also highlighting how businesses can leverage weather data to manage risks and capture new opportunities.
Social and economic activities are closely tied to weather conditions, yet climate change and increasingly extreme events are making forecasts more difficult. To strengthen risk management, a growing number of companies are turning to customized weather data to minimize unpredictable impacts. RECCESSARY spoke with Weather Risk Explore Inc. to examine how the private sector is applying climate services in its adaptation strategies.
Weather grows harder to predict as extreme events become the norm
The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) State of the Global Climate 2024 report confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year in 175 years, exceeding the record set in 2023—a reminder that each passing year may be the coolest summer we will ever experience.
Jimmy Lee (李知航), sales and marketing manager at WeatherRisk Explore Inc., said weather patterns are diverging sharply from the past. Droughts that once occurred roughly once in a century are now appearing every three to five years, while typhoons are growing stronger and rainfall more intense. With heat becoming more palpable to the public, historical climate experience is increasingly unreliable as a guide for today’s decisions.
Rising global temperatures are having profound impact on climate and weather. Camyale Chao (趙恭岳), executive director of the International Climate Development Institute (ICDI), noted that more than 80% of economic and social activities are linked to climate conditions, affecting both tangible and intangible costs. This creates uncertainties, extremes, and risks, underscoring that climate is, at its core, a scientific issue.
As extreme weather becomes the new normal, interpreting meteorological data has become critical for businesses seeking to manage risks. Lee explained that weather information is often difficult to interpret, so probabilities of rainfall, temperature, and humidity must be translated into industry-specific terms to help clients understand what the numbers mean and what actions they should take.
