Historical weather data loses significance

Climate change has made historical weather data an inaccurate guide to fisheries, forestry, transport and tourism, as well as efforts to fight diseases such as malaria. "The past is no longer a good indicator of the future," says Michel Jarraud, director-general of the World Meteorological Organization according to Reuters. "This traditional knowledge is no longer adapted. It's exactly because your grandfather did this that you shouldn't do it, because the context has changed... this is something completely new - to make decisions not on facts or statistics about the past, but on the probabilities for the future," he says. Next week, about 1,500 policy-makers, researchers and corporate leaders will meet at the third World Climate Conference. The overarching theme of the conference is "Climate prediction and information for decision-making".