GS Paper III

News Excerpt: 

NICES programme invites Indian researchers to join in combating climate change.

About NICES Programme: 

• The National Information System for Climate and Environment Studies (NICES) programme operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)  the Department of Space along with other ministries and institutions
• It operates within the framework of the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
  • Under this programme inviting Indian researchers to join in combating climate change.
• NICES envisages realization of national-level accurate, consistent, and long-term climate database generation, derived from Indian and other Earth Observation (EO) satellites from both polar and geostationary missions for climate change impact assessment and mitigation.
• NICES generates and disseminates long-term essential climate variables (ECVs) derived from Indian and other earth observation satellites. 
  • ECVs are critical to the characterisation of the earth’s climate as they track climate change at a global scale.

• Projects can cover atmospheric, ocean, terrestrial, and cryospheric domains.

• • Themes include space-based ECVs and climate indicators, climate change challenges.

• • • Such as impacts on marine biodiversity and ocean warming, weather extremes, and climate services like identifying vulnerability hotspots.

Aims of NICES: 

• The NICES program  aims to enhance the participation of academia and research institutions in addressing climate change-related challenges through dedicated multidisciplinary scientific investigations. 
• Project proposals are invited from individuals or groups of scientists, academicians, and researchers affiliated with various Indian government organisations, government-recognised institutions, universities, and departments in India. 
• Projects are expected to be completed within 3 years from the date of sanction,” states ISRO.
• The NICES Program seeks project proposals in areas like Space-based ECVs, Climate Indicators, Climate Change Challenges, Weather Extremes, and Climate Services. 

Objectives of the NICES:

• To build long term database on climate variables.
• Establish and develop linkages with appropriate observational networks for calibration and validation.
• Acquisition and processing of international missions’ data for climate parameters in addition to Indian EO Satellite data to generate long term data records.
• Establish necessary infrastructure including hardware and software for NICES for climate studies.
• Geophysical parameter retrieval and generation of methodologies for Essential Climate Variables (ECVs) from Indian EO and other international missions.
• Generation of spatial & temporal blended products .
• Develop a science plan for climate change impact assessment, adaptation and mitigation studies with participating organizations.
• Develop an outreach and interaction mechanism for effective dissemination and utilization of NICES information base.

Achievements: 

• Developed and made accessible over 70 geophysical variables related to terrestrial, oceanic, and atmospheric conditions.
• Contributed to documenting climate change and its impacts by utilizing geophysical datasets derived from satellites and other sources.