Towards a fully integrated urban weather environment climate

service in Mexico City

Mexico City Ministry of Environment

SEDEMA

Cities & Climate Change Science Conference WMO Session “Guide for Integrated Urban Weather, Environment and Climate Services”March 6, 2018 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Tanya Müller (Secretary of Environment), Beatriz Cárdenas (SEDEMA), Luisa T. Molina (MIT/MCE2)

MEXICO CITY: TOPOGRAPHY – URBAN EXPANSION

Built on the dried bed of elevated Lake Texcoco and its surrounding

High altitude: 2240 m; strong sun insolation

Surrounded three sides by mountains and volcanoes- physical barrier for winds

Temperature inversions in dry season

Urban Area 2000 Urban Area 2010

Mexico City Metropolitan Area Megalopolis

MEXICO CITY METROPOLITAN AREA 21 million inhabitants – split between MexicoCity and part of the State of Mexico. High population density and intense industrial and commercial activities.

Mexico City Emissions Inventory, 2014

MEXICO CITY CHALLENGES

Multiple risks due

to geographic

location and

socio-economic

context made

worse by Climate

change

Social and spatial

inequality & high

vulnerability to

climate change

Integrated long-term

planning and regional

coordination in the

Megalopolis (comprising

Mexico City and 5

surrounding states with

separate juridictions)

MEXICO CITY MAIN RISKS

Mexico City Resilient Program, 2017

EXTREM

Climate change has become the biggest long-term threat to Mexico City’s future. it is linked to water, health, air pollution, traffic disruption from floods, and housing vulnerability to landslides

MEXICO CITY IUWECS

Motivation for integrated services:• To provide key information to different sectors of Mexico City

population about weather, water, air quality, climate, wildfires

• Most of these originated to the needs for providing timely information to both decision makers and citizens due to the problems Mexico City has faced over time, including

– air quality management originated due to the bad air quality Mexico City monitored in late 1980´s;

– water services due to the flooding Mexico City suffer during rainy season;

– wildfires that occurred every hot season in Mexico City protected land area;

– volcanic hazards from volcanic eruption and emissions

These services are provided by Mexico City Government through the different agencies that report to the Mayor and to the public.

MEXICO CITY IUWECS

Air quality data and AQ forecast

Seismic system

Hydrometeorologicalalert system WildfiresVector-borne diseases

related to climate change

Volcanic alertMULTI-HAZARD

MONITORING

SUCCESSFUL AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT ACTIONS

O3, M

ax, v

ol

• Air quality and GHG policy and management

• Collaboration with government agencies, especially Health Agency

• Monitoring air quality• Scientific Committee for Environmental

Improvement

CDMX CLIMATE ACTION PROGRAM 2014-2020 (PACCM)

4.36 million tons CO2eq reduced by April 201765% of progress towards 2018 goal

100 CIUDADES RESILIENTES

5 Pillars

Launched in Sept 2016

Collaboration with Rockefeller Foundation through 100 Resilient Cities

CDMX RESILIENCE STRATEGY

Adaptive, inclusive and equitable transformation

CENTRE FOR

COMMAND, CONTROL,

COMPUTATION,

COMMUNICATIONS AND

CITIZEN CONTACT (C5)

Goal:

Response within 5

minutes of an incident

Resources:

• 1 main centre (C5)

• 5 regional centres (C2)

• 2 mobile command and

control centres

• Telephone centre for

emergencies (#911)

• 8,088 cameras

MULTI-HAZARD MONITORING SYSTEM

COMMUNICATION TO THE PUBLICForecasting

http://www.aire.cdmx.gob.mx/pronostico-aire/index.php; http://www.aire.cdmx.gob.mx/default.php?opc=%27YqBhnmI=%27

Air Quality Monitoring Network

Hydrometeorological Bulletin

http://www.proteccioncivil.cdmx.gob.mx/boletín

COMMUNICATION TO THE PUBLIC

Risk Atlas

http://data.proteccioncivil.cdmx.gob.mx/mapas_sgm/mapas_sgm2.html

CDMX CHALLENGES IN ADDRESSING INTEGRATED SERVICES

• Continue and finalized integration among Mexico City agencies

• Collaborate and integrate with other systems (i.e., Federal systems)

• Continuity through administrations

• Continue to promote more collaboration with national and international institutions and private sectors even during “hard economic times”

• Expand and strengthen capacity building for technicians and scientists

• Send messages: improve communication with citizens

• Use information to evaluate and improve the system

GOOD PRACTICES AND LESSONS LEARNED

• Research has been very important for designing, implementing and improving many of these services:– Mexico City has a long history of collaboration with research

institutions, both national and international, including National Autonomous University, National Politecnic Institute, Harvard University, Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Molina Center for Energy and the Environment, among others.

– Mexico City Ministry for Science and Technology has also devoted budget to support many research studies related to these services.

• Open data, transparency, and innovation as part of Mexico City public policy

• Investment in new technology: measurements, transmission and publications

• Human resources as one of the key priorities

• Science as the basis for informed decision making

• Continuity through different administrations

Photo by Kike

Thank you!¡Gracias!

http://www.cdmx.gob.mx/ www.sedema.cdmx.gob.mx