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'Coldest winter' reports called speculative

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-10-21 11:30

GENEVA - The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)said Tuesday recent reports forecasting the 2010 winter to be the coldest in Europe in 1,000 years are "speculative" and "not backed up by authoritative and robust scientific evidence."

A family clears snow that blankets their car in Feldberg, Germany, Oct 20, 2010. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said Tuesday that recent reports forecasting this winter to be the coldest in Europe in 1,000 years are "speculative" and "not backed up by authoritative and robust scientific evidence." [Photo/Xinhua]

When asked about the reports, the WMO told Xinhua, "At present, the available operational long-range forecasts do not indicate a particularly severe winter in Europe."

Related readings:  Freezing weather unlikely this winter

According to WMO, the Organization is working in collaboration with National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and other partners to develop and improve operational climate predictions, notably through the establishment of Global Producing Centers of Long Range Forecasts, and Regional Climate Centers, to provide probabilistic long range forecasts which can be helpful for decision-making.

The WMO is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.