Weather data could save lives

Given the recent events of crippling hurricanes in Texas, Florida and now Puerto Rico, their combined timing and devastation will certainly spark debate about climate change. But for Dr. Rick Crouthamel, a 35‑year veteran in weather study, his voice on the matter is not about climate change but about saving historical weather-related information before it's too late.
At a recent Machias Rotary Club meeting, Crouthamel stressed the importance in having quick and easy access to historical weather data and its impact on saving lives. It especially is vital for developing countries when it comes to the when, what and where in planting crops and in the decision-making process of how much to save for those bad years. He believes all of this can happen anywhere and it will save lives in the end, but only if good historical data is available.
The nonprofit organization International Environmental Data Rescue Organization (IEDRO) is currently in 15 countries doing the tedious work of collecting, transcribing and saving historical weather data. "It is about historical information and the impact having it and being able to access it can have on people's lives," says Crouthamel. "What we do is provide a vaccine in a sense, a vaccine that has been around for a hundred years but needs to be modified so it can be used by everyone. That vaccine is historic weather observation. When collected and put into digital format, computers can use these observations and help prevent millions of deaths throughout the world."
Crouthamel is no stranger to weather. Working for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), he has seen first hand the impact weather data has on the future. Seeing funding for document rescue being reduced after his retirement from NOAA, he decided to continue the efforts, and in 2005 founded IEDRO. In an ironic twist, NOAA and its various departments were brought back into the fold to assist in rescuing historic weather data in six African countries. IEDRO provided the equipment, expertise and the time in teaching others how to preserve this vital information. From there, the organization expanded into many other countries.
In countries such as Chile, Bolivia and El Salvador, weather-related data in the form of paper logs, charts and cylinders are exposed to the elements and to time. It is estimated the world loses 500,000 old weather records every day. These same records can be used to predict cataclysmic drought, floods and the spread of disease.
The mission of IEDRO, as stated on the organization's website, is to locate, rescue, image, digitize, archive and share historic climate data across the globe, enabling developing countries better support in agriculture, infrastructure planning, disease prevention and climate change. "No other single endeavor will save more human lives and prevent more suffering." Crouthamel adds, "With the exception of starvation, more people die from floods than the rest of all natural disasters combined. River forecasting computer models in developed countries, such as the United States, gives an ability to warn people hours in advance on the arrival of the flood. Such is not the case in developing countries where past records never make it into these computer models. Without this historical data, forecasting what a river is going to do is next to impossible."
One story Crouthamel shared with the group to symbolize the importance of having good data available was about a rice farmer living with his wife, two sons and two young daughters in a small village outside Bangladesh. His crop fed the entire family for a year. When asked how he prepares for times of drought, the farmer pointed to five large sacks of rice, saying he saves 10% of his harvest for the coming bad year. When asked how often he experiences a bad year, the farmer replied, "Every 10 years, as I have been farming 10 years and experienced only one drought." When Crouthamel returned to the city, he reviewed 30 years of weather records and determined drought in that region actually occurs on average every seven years, not 10. A year after visiting the family and four years before it was expected, another drought occurred. It is probable the two twin girls starved to death. "When it comes to forecasting weather related disasters, historical information is paramount in saving lives," says Crouthamel.
Recently the organization successfully implemented a web‑based platform that has a computer game feel to it. The program's name is Weather Wizards and with continued refinement should garner more interest, reduce the cost of digitization and add users. The users of this current program will actually perform the tedious job of entering data and digitizing rainfall records.
"We are finding people, especially young people, are really excited to take part in this, help others, and at the same time compete, like gamers, by earning points," says Crouthamel. "Currently we are in Uzbekistan rescuing 17 million pages of historic weather data, so looks like we are going to need a lot more citizen scientists, as we call our volunteers, to help us out."
For more information about IEDRO, go to <www.iedro.org>. To become a part of the volunteer network for Weather Wizards, go to <www.weatherwizards.org>.