Data for adaptation at different spatial and temporal scales

The demand for data for adaptation is growing in response to different political and practical needs. Through the Paris Agreement, Parties to the UNFCCC have called for a strengthening of global cooperation to ensure that adaptation action is based on and guided by the best available science. At national and associated sub-national scales, adaptation, following the process of formulating and implementing national adaptation plans (NAPs) or other plans and strategies, has entered the planning and implementation stage. This requires increasingly diversified and specialized data and related data products. The objective of the paper is to provide an overview of the categories of data that are required for effective adaptation, the forms in which these data are currently provided at different scales, remaining gaps and challenges and opportunities to enhance the provision and use of such data.