Introduction and need for change:
The Standard Climate Normals underpin many climate services and applications, including climatologies, and also comprise the reference period for the evaluation of anomalies in climate variability and change monitoring. The current method for calculation of these Normals is to average station data over a 30 year period, and update the Normals every 30 years. This might be referred to as the “30/30 model”. The current Standard Normals period is 1961-90, and under current methodology, the next update will be in 2021, when the 1991-2020 period will become the new standard.
The question arises about the representativeness of a period such as 1961-90 after 15, 20, 25 years in a non-stationary climate. Many climate applications need to base fundamental planning decisions on average and extreme climate conditions, and it is plain that, for instance, an orchardist in 2015 trying to assess whether the climatic conditions in a region suit a particular variety of fruit, is not going to be receiving optimal guidance from 1961-90 Normals. At the same time, a set of Climate Normals that is stable over a long period is still required to anchor time-series of temperature, rainfall etc for climate monitoring purposes. Recognising these differing needs, the Commission for Climatology (CCl) wishes to propose the adoption of a dual system of normals, as described below. In so doing, the CCl recognises that such a change to long-standing practice may result in considerable extra work for some NMHSs in amending products, and the possibility of other unintended consequences arising. For these reasons, we invite comment on the proposal from climate services and other Technical Commissions.
The proposal:
The CCl proposes that the standard period of climatological normals be redefined as a dual standard:
1.
Retain the 30/30 model, i.e., a base period of 30 year normals, updated every 30 years, i.e retain 1961-90 as the base period until 2021, when 1991-2020 will become the new base period; AND
2.
Define a “rolling” set of 30 year Normals updated every 10 years (hereafter the 30/10 model), such that 1981-2010 becomes the current base-period, until 2021, when 1991-2020 will become the new base period, and in 2031, that 2001-2030 become the base period.
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