CLIMATE CHANGE AND POLLUTION MONITORING SERVICES

Climate Change and Pollution (CCP) Monitoring Services is among the new Sub-Branches in the Department, under the Forecasting and Regional Office Branch.

The main objectives of this sub-branch are:
a) To undertake Climate Change Monitoring, Detection and Attribution especially in terms of the trends and occurrence of severe weather and extreme climate events;
b) To monitor background atmosphere and urban air pollution;
c) Vulnerability assessments to Climate Change; and
d) Mitigation and Adaptation options/strategies to Climate Change.

In order to achieve the Sub-Branch mandate, the following Divisions / Sections / Units have been constituted:
I. Climate Change;
II. Atmospheric Pollution Monitoring;
III. Urban Pollution Monitoring

I. Climate Change

The Division’s main objective is extensive scientific research including monitoring, detection and assessment for climate change in the country; consistent with the regional / global issues of climate change.

Expected results include:
• Climate change related products used in management, planning, and emergency preparedness
• Improvement in the capability of models used to project the future evolution of the climate system (i.e. ability of the models to simulate variability in the present and recent past)
• Enhanced and sustained public awareness of climate change issues among stakeholders
• A well informed society on climate change issues and implications
• Capacity to: identify/understand impacts, vulnerability and adaptation, select and implement adaptation actions, better manage climate risks; and enhance integration of climate change adaptation with sustainable development in the country.
• Consensus among stakeholders on how to approach and manage climate change challenges in Kenya.

The Division also participates in National, Regional and International Climate Change related initiatives and activities. These include (among others):

• Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC);
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC);
• Preparation National communications to UNFCCC;
• Preparation of the State of Environment (SoE) Report(s);
• Preparation of the National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA);
• Kenya Adaptation to Climate Change in Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (KACCAL)
• Development of the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS); and
• Development of the East African Community (EAC) Climate Change Master Plan

II. Atmospheric Pollution Monitoring

a) Mt Kenya GAW Station

KMD operates the Mt. Kenya Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Station [3678 metres altitude, 0°3'S 37°18'E] that is part of the WMO Atmospheric Research and Environment Programme (AREP, http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/index_en.html) in the equatorial environment. It was established in 1996 through funding by the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) of World Bank and the government of Kenya. The station is designated for long-term measurements of atmospheric chemical composition and background pollution that includes including providing vital information on greenhouse gases (GHGs) and aerosols in Equatorial Africa, and the effect of biomass burning on the regional build- up of tropospheric ozone.