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Climate Services for Coping with Climate Change, Drought, and
Extreme Heat in the México-U.S. Border Region
vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and children, and in
the city center, which is the area most exposed to the urban heat
island effect. Participants also mentioned actions already being
taken by the City, including campaigns to distribute water bottles,
and talks at schools.
Since January 2017, the Oficina de Resiliencia en Cuidad Juárez has
convened multiple meetings with local researchers, practitioners
and the public, with the purpose of developing strategies and
plans for future work and partnerships. Working in focal groups
similar to the work groups described earlier, participants have
described existing actions, such as regional studies, vulnerability
analyses and forecasting, and they have outlined future actions,
including updating models and enhancing environmental health
education. Moreover, the Oficina de Resiliencia en Ciudad Juárez
is working with the Environmental Education Taskforce of the
Binational Border 2020 Program and the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality, to convene a conference aimed at
practitioners in public health, and community leaders.
Summary and Next Steps
In this chapter, we have discussed some coordinated climate
services for the México-U.S. border region. Climate services are
essential for reducing risks related to persistent phenomena, such
as drought, to take advantage of improvements in forecasting
and climate modeling, and to prepare for projected changes in
temperature, precipitation, and severe storms. The U.S. and México
have robust weather services, and in the RGB Pilot region there is
a history of coordination between entities in New Mexico, Texas,
and Chihuahua, focused on emergency management for short
