BULLETIN Realizing the WMO 2030 Vision - Vol. 68 (2) 2019
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BULLETIN
Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
WEATHER CLIMATE WATER
Realizing the
WMO 2030 Vision
WMO BULLETIN Contents
The journal of the
World Meteorological Realizing the WMO Vision for 2030:
Organization An interview with Secretary-General
Petteri Taalas
Volume 68 (2) - 2019 By Sylvie Castonguay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Secretary-General P. Taalas
Deputy Secretary-General E. Manaenkova
Copernicus Joining Forces with WMO on
Assistant Secretary-General W. Zhang GFCS
The WMO Bulletin is published twice per year By Erica Allis, Jean-Nöel Thépaut, Carlo Buontempo,
in English, French, Russian and Spanish editions. Rupa Kumar Kolli, Wilfran Moufouma Okia,
Berit Arheimer, Abdu Ali, Joni Dehaspe and
Editor E. Manaenkova
Associate Editor S. Castonguay
Christian Birkel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Editorial board
E. Manaenkova (Chair) Sustainability of Atmospheric
S. Castonguay (Secretary)
P. Kabat (Chief Scientist, research) Observations in Developing Countries
R. Masters (policy, external relations)
M. Power (development, regional activities) By Paolo Laj, Marcos Andrade, Ranjeet Sokhi,
J. Cullmann (water)
Y. Adebayo (education and training) Claudia Volosciuk and Oksana Tarasova . . . . . . . . .14
F. Belda Esplugues (observing and information systems)
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© World Meteorological Organization, 2018
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Cover photo: Manuel Roca
From Atmospheric Observations and Development of Operational Weather
Analysis of Greenhouse Gases to Emission Forecasting Shaped by the “Triple-In”
Estimates: a Scientific Adventure Properties of Numerical Models
By Shamil Maksyutov, Dominik Brunner, By Rucong Yu, Jian Li and Pengqun Jia. . . . . . . . . .56
Alistair Manning, Paul Fraser, Oksana Tarasova and
Claudia Volosciuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29
Nowcasting Guidelines – A Summary
Weather and Climate Services: An By Franziska Schmid, Yong Wang and
Abdoulaye Harou . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
Increasing Range of Choice for the
Public and Private Sector
By Adriaan Perrels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
Origin, Impact and Aftermath of
WMO Resolution 40
Encouraging Innovation Across WMO By John W. Zillman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
By Christoph Meister and Florian Teichert . . . . . . .42
The New WMO Community Platform
Early Warnings of Coastal Inundation By Florian Teichert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
By Val Swail, Sarah Grimes and Paul Pilon, Ray
Canterford, Curtis Barrett, and Yuri Simonov . . . . . .48
2 Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
Realizing the WMO Vision for
2030: An interview with Secretary-
General Petteri Taalas
By Sylvie Castonguay1
and working practices – often without success. The
motivation of Prof. Taalas to apply for the Secretary
General post was to modernize WMO. The Eighteenth
World Meteorological Congress (Cg-18) in 2019
approved a historic reform package that includes a
reduction in the number of technical commissions from
eight to two to favour Earth System weather, climate,
water and ocean infrastructures and the development
of a wide range of multi-hazard services. Cg-18 also
decided to establish a Scientific Advisory Panel of
world leading experts to give strategic guidance for
WMO. In addition, it established a Research Board to
support Members in the science to services process.
CG-18 also approved a new Geneva Declaration for
coordinated engagement of the private sector in WMO
activities. A Technical Coordination Committee and
Policy Advisory Committee were set up to prepare
and streamline decisions of the Executive Council
and Congress.
WMO
The goal is to ensure that WMO remains fit-for-purpose,
becomes more nimble and uses its intellectual and
The Seventeenth World Meteorological Congress in financial resources more cost-effectively. There is a
2015 appointed Petteri Taalas as Secretary-General of desire to engage more experts from the least developed
the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and gave countries in core WMO activities. It was also decided
him a strong mandate to reform the WMO governance to organize an extra Congress in the middle of the
structure. Climate change, an increasing number of current WMO four-year cycle.
disasters, population growth, urbanization, uneven
development of countries and new technologies were However, other big challenges lie ahead. One of the
the main drivers for the reform.1 most formidable relates to data sharing – a core tenet
of WMO that is once again under threat. International
Many United Nations agencies, including WMO, cooperation under the (mostly non-governmental)
have attempted to reform their constituent bodies International Meteorological Organization (IMO), whose
origins date to 1873, and the (intergovernmental) WMO
1 WMO Secretariat was built on almost universal sharing of observational
WMO BULLETIN 3
WMO
Secretary-General Petteri Taalas met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at UN Headquarters in New York
on 6 March 2018.
data and scientific knowledge. Today, the WMO The timeline for the reform transition is ambitious.
community faces opportunities and threats from new How do you plan to roll out the reform without
technologies – one of those threats is to the free and disrupting the work of WMO? Where do you start?
open sharing of data. There is a need to re-examine
the policy foundations of current practices. Taalas: Reform processes are always challenging. In our
case, we have been lucky to mobilize large amounts
There is also urgency for action to bring down barriers of WMO Secretariat staff, as well as national experts
between public and private sector components of the and directors, to design the transition process and to
weather enterprise, scientific fields, policymakers ensure the success of the reform.
and society as a whole to ensure “that the best and
most effective services, forecasts and warnings are In addition to what is outlined in the introduction,
provided” as per the Geneva Declaration. In order to the challenges ahead concern the reform of the
facilitate an open, constructive dialogue among all WMO Secretariat structure and working practices.
players toward achieving this end, WMO launched The Secretariat structure and staffing are supposed
an Open Consultative Platform in June. to be finalized by the end of 2019. Cg-18 tasked me
as Secretary-General to streamline, modernize and
How the Platform will achieve this goal, the next steps improve the efficiency of administrative work. WMO
to be taken towards a greater integration of private has already advertised and selected a top management
and academic sectors in the work of WMO and other team. Broader job descriptions will be drafted, where
questions are answered by Secretary-General Taalas necessary, for professional staff members and rotation
in the interview below in which he outlines the way will be encouraged.The use of administrative resources
ahead for his second term in office from 2020−2023. will be more centralized, and administrative staff
4 Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
will be offered new duties following technological of WMO expertise and to support Members in the
advancements. developing and least developed countries.
What are the main hurdles you foresee in implementing Are there other challenges that you would like to
the reform into the structure and culture of WMO? address in your next term?
How will you tackle these?
Taalas: The United Nations has been successful in
Taalas: In addition to changing the constituent bodies promoting a wide global development agenda: health,
and Secretariat structures, it is essential to pay attention crisis mitigation, education, economic growth, gender,
to the cultural changes. There is a chance to promote etc. Today, the main challenge for the UN is climate
the Earth System, multi-hazard services and seamless mitigation and adaptation as well as population growth
predictions on all scales, where weather, climate, water, control. WMO is the key player in climate mitigation
oceans and atmospheric composition are handled in and adaptation inside the UN family.
unity instead of in silos. Those wider perspectives are
great opportunities for the whole WMO community
as well as for individual experts.
Organizations and individuals are resistant to change.
Four years is a short period to anchor changes in order
to avoid WMO slipping back into its old silo mentality.
What tactics and tools will you use to achieve long-
lasting change?
Taalas: The whole process has been run as a large
community effort. The enthusiasm and commitment
of WMO staff and Members has been impressive. I
am convinced that no one will want to turn back once
they have started to enjoy the fruits of the reform
processes.The demand for weather, climate and water
expertise, services and science is currently growing
considerably. Our new business models will offer us
great opportunities to respond to that demand.
Above we highlighted the data challenge, the breaking
down of barriers and other major challenges. How
will you address these in your next term?
Taalas: By widely engaging the Secretariat and Member
experts in the planning and implementation process,
which is already taking place. One of our challenges
and opportunities is to engage more experts from
all of the WMO Member States and Territories in the
work of the new technical commissions and research
bodies. That is one of the goals of the reform. Another
is to join forces with development partners, like the
World Bank, the Green Climate Fund and UNDP as
well as with sister organizations, such as WHO, FAO,
UNESCO, ICAO, IMO and UNEP, to enhance the impact
WMO BULLETIN 5
Copernicus Joining Forces
with WMO on GFCS
By Erica Allis1, Jean-Nöel Thépaut2, Carlo Buontempo3, Rupa Kumar Kolli4, Wilfran Moufouma Okia5,
Berit Arheimer6, Abdu Ali7, Joni Dehaspe8 and Christian Birkel9
The Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) WMO, whose 193 Member States and Territories are
provides a basis for the structured and coherent framing the custodians of the operational Earth observation
of the science, data, operations and applications and modelling infrastructure, is a coordinating partner
fundamental to transitioning to a climate smart and in the implementation of the GFCS. Collaboration
resilient society. It enables better-informed management among other partners is essential in delivering on
of the risks of climate variability and change and the Framework’s vision of improved resilience and
adaptation to climate change. This is accomplished by development outcomes for vulnerable members of
developing, providing and incorporating science-based society. This article explores a few of the challenges
climate information into planning, policy and practice. in the implementation of the GFCS pillars and
highlight existing and potential opportunities for
The Framework addresses the critical elements required collaboration between WMO, its Members, partners,
for effective coordination, co-design, dissemination and and the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S)
uptake of weather, climate and hydrological services. to enhance and scale GFCS implementation. It also
It places the decision context and information needs outlines a few issues for further consideration that
of people at the centre and champions interactive require immediate attention.
user engagement to foster trust and enable risk-
informed decision-making. The GFCS is comprised of
five foundational “pillars” across which investments User interface platform (UIP)
and coordination at global, regional, and national
levels underpin service delivery: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 The decision context and information needs of
users in climate-sensitive sectors lie at the heart of
• User interface platform, effective climate services. A successful climate service
• Observations and monitoring, is provided not when the delivery reaches the last
• Climate Services Information System (CSIS), mile, but when the delivery is co-planned in the very
• Research, modelling and prediction, and first mile10. Information needs to be tailored to reach
• Capacity development. the right person in the right form at the right time.
Tailoring requires multi-disciplinary science that duly
1 WMO Secretariat
considers the complexity of the systems within which
2 European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts
climate information is produced and delivered; the
(ECMWF), Reading, UK
3 ECMWF
contexts within which users work and use it; and the
4 International CLIVAR Monsoon Project Office, Pune, India many factors driving users’ decision-making.11
5 Climate Prediction and Adaptation Branch, WMO Secretariat
10 Vogel, C. et al (in press). Climate Services in Africa: Re-imag-
6 Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
ining an inclusive, robust and sustainable service. Climate
7 Centre Régional AGRHYMET, Niger Services.
8 Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Germany 11 Allis, E. et al. 2019: The Future of Climate Services. WMO
9 University of Costa Rica Bulletin, 68(1).
6 Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
In November 2014, the European Union (EU) portfolio includes a wide range of Essential
entrusted the European Centre for Medium- Climate Variable (ECV) datasets, and global
Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to implement and regional reanalyses products (gridded;
C3S, which became operational in 2018, four homogenized station series; reprocessed
years after its launch. It serves as a major Climate Data Records). This access to high-
contribution from the EU to the GFCS. resolution global datasets can serve as useful
inputs to a wide range of user-targeted climate
C3S is part of the EU’s Copernicus programme, information and prediction products on global,
which includes six core thematic services: regional and national scales.
Atmosphere Monitoring, Land Monitoring,
Marine Environment Monitoring, Emergency C3S Sectoral Information System aims to improve
Management, Security and Climate Change. decision-making and planning regarding climate
C3S integrates observations of the climate risk management as well as climate change
system (in-situ and satellite data12) and makes mitigation and adaptation. In Europe, it serves
global datasets of the atmosphere, land, ocean, as the basis for many tailored services for public,
sea-ice and carbon accessible in the public policy and commercial needs.
domain through the Climate Data Store. This
The multiple interfaces of stakeholder interactions regulations outline standards to ensure a constant
comprise the UIP. Partner organizations play important supply of quality-assured and quality-controlled
roles in mapping out the decision-contexts, information observational data. Socio-economic data from
needs and facilitating co-design processes. Partners the climate sensitive sectors similarly needs to be
are also critical in the collection12and sharing of standardized and quality controlled to enable reliable
observational and socio-economic data required to and decision relevant climate services.
achieve impact oriented forecasts. WMO technical
The climate service landscape is busy and complex with
12 Copernicus, 2019. Data Access (Website) Retrieved October
a variety of stakeholders. Despite excellent intentions
22, 2019, from copernicus.eu/en/access-data. of development programmes, recent research in Africa
WMO BULLETIN 7
notes that the political economy and power relations socioeconomic datasets in the GFCS priority areas
in climate services production, along with the daily and monitoring the socioeconomic impacts of climate
lived realities of vulnerable user communities, are yet service use. Lessons learned from proof-of-concepts
to be fully explored in the design of climate service conducted under C3S in Europe could prove useful
initiatives.13 in developing principles for how we compile, share
and merge climate and socioeconomic impact data
Structures of governance – as arbiters and promoters in designing climate services and monitor impacts.16
of transparency, accountability, and thus potential
trustworthiness of the climate services – are necessary14.
National/Regional Frameworks for Climate Services Observations and monitoring
(N/RFCS) offer a promising solution for climate
service governance. NFCS can enable coordination,
facilitate and strengthen collaboration among national
institutions and other key stakeholders, such as the
United Nations and international agencies, to improve
the co-production, tailoring, delivery, and use of
science-based climate services.
European Space Agency
Thirty-six countries have or are in the process of
developing their NFCS and ten would like to initiate
the process. Development of RFCS will launch in 2020
through funding from the European Commission in
the African, Caribbean, and Pacific regions. However,
to maximize and better articulate the economic and
social value potential of climate services, attention Reliable meteorological and hydrological analyses
needs to be placed on the roles and responsibilities of and forecasts depend on a constant supply of quality-
the monitoring and evaluation process of all potential assured and quality-controlled global observational
stakeholders.15 data. Gaps in observations in one area negatively
impacts the quality of the forecast across the entire
The role of C3S globe. Data, together with the systems and regulated
processes by which they are measured, collected,
C3S has developed an Evaluation and Quality Control compared, shared, processed and applied, are
function that supports gathering user requirements fundamental to WMO.17
to promote and guide service evolution. There are
opportunities to explore leveraging this feature to Since the early 1960s, WMO has coordinated
consolidate the user requirements gathered through the acquisition and international exchange of
the N/RFCS as part of GFCS implementation. meteorological observations through the World Weather
Watch (WWW) Programme. WWW is comprised of the
There are challenges in GFCS implementation following components:
related to the systematic collection of quality assured
• Global Observing System (GOS), which coordi-
13 Vogel, C. et al (in press). ibid. nates the standardized collection and international
14 Kruczkiewicz A, Hansen J, Sayeed S, Furlow J, Rose A, Dinh exchange of meteorological and environmental
D. 2018. Review of Climate Services Governance Structures:
observations worldwide in support of weather,
Case Studies from Mali, Jamaica, and India. CCAFS Working
Paper no. 236. Wageningen, Netherlands: CGIAR Research climate and environmental services.
Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security
(CCAFS). Available online at: www.ccafs.cgiar.org
15 World Meteorological Organization. 2011. Valuing Weather 16 Allis, E. et al. 2019: ibid.
and Climate: Economic Assessment of Meteorological and 17 Barrell, Sue. 2019: Data and Systems Perspective on Con-
Hydrological Services. WMO-No. 1153. Geneva, Switzerland. stituent Body Reform. WMO Bulletin, 68(1).
8 Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
• Global Telecommunication System (GTS), the centres, which allow users to download aspects of
system that enables Members to share data and interest in the datasets.
products with each other in real time in support
of operational forecasting. Cg-18 also endorsed the next evolution of the GDPFS18.
The operational predictive capability will be integrated
• The Global Data-Processing and Forecasting across multiple time and space scales from weather
System (GDPFS) is organized as a three-level to climate and will address a broader spectrum of
system: World Meteorological Centres (WMCs), user needs. This “Seamless” approach will enable
Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres exchange and use of data from a variety of sources,
(RSMCs) and National Meteorological Centres including vulnerability and exposure data to facilitate
(NMC) that provide quality-assured, processed impact-based forecasting and risk-based warnings
data, analyses, and forecast products on a wide across disciplines. Interoperability will require the
range of temporal and spatial scales. development of common data formats for new
technologies. The seamless approach will demand
The evolution of data, technology and the scale of the higher level of coordination for the integration and
present societal challenges related to our changing interaction of individual components under WMO
Earth system demanded dramatic changes in the auspices – WMC, RSMC, NMC and CSIS – and with
governance and programmatic structures of WMO.The external agencies and organizations.
modalities of reform were agreed at the Eighteenth
World Meteorological Congress (Cg-18) in June 2019. The role of C3S
The update of the Earth observation network will be The C3S Climate Data Store offers insight into
accomplished through the WMO Integrated Global the implementation of the emerging cloud-based
Observing System (WIGOS). WIGOS provides an computing technology. It provides web-based access
over-arching framework for the coordination and to, and interaction with, petabytes of existing climate
optimized evolution of existing observing systems, datasets. The application code executes on a cloud
which will continue to be owned and operated by infrastructure with high-speed access to massive
a diverse array of organizations and programmes. volumes of data19. This platform could be leveraged
WIGOS will consolidate all in-situ and space-based in regions and by Members where cloud technologies
observing programmes of WMO, including the GOS, are limited in practice and functionality.
Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), World
Hydrological Observing System (WHOS), Global
Atmosphere Watch (GAW) and Global Cryosphere Climate Services Information System
Watch (GCW). The implementation of WIGOS will
be scaled through development and operational CSIS is the “operational backbone" of the GFCS. CSIS
implementation of the Global Basic Observing Network is the principal mechanism through which information
(GBON), with electronic metadata inventories for all about climate across timescales – past, present and
observing platforms, along with quantitative tools to future – is archived, analysed, modelled, exchanged,
monitor their data delivery and data quality. delivered and co-designed for use. The system builds
on knowledge generated from the WMO Commission
The update of the GTS will be accomplished through for Climatology (CCL), GDPFS, and approaches
WMO Information System (WIS) Version 2.0. WIS built developed through the WMO Climate Information
on and incorporated GTS, adding a data catalogue, and Prediction Services (CLIPS) project (1995-2015).
data discovery portal and additional mechanisms for
users to subscribe to and download data. WIS 2.0
will further improve data discovery and access, and 18 WMO. Congress Eighteenth Session. Geneva, Switzerland:
World Meteorological Organization, 2019.
participating centres will provide Web services that
19 Wardle, J. and Tandy, J. 2019: Data sharing for Sustainable
enhance user access and interaction with data. Cloud Development: the WMO Information System (WIS) 2.0.
technologies will be encouraged among participating WMO Bulletin, 68(1).WMO BULLETIN 9
CCL was established in 1929 “to provide world exchange at the regional level, with technical support
leadership in promoting expertise and international provided by the concerned RCCs. At the national
cooperation in climatology.”20 The Commission helped level C3S, WMO RCC and NMHS collaboration could
establish observing requirements for climate, the leverage National Climate Outlook Forums (NCOFs)
technical regulations for climate data exchange and and the “Climate Services Toolkit”21 to enhancing
climate data management systems, and led efforts in physical access to a wide number of countries to CSIS
data rescue – all essential to enable CSIS. related climate data, tools and products, e.g. through
EUMETCAST or other media.
CLIPS was instrumental in facilitating the use of WMO
basic infrastructure to strengthen NMHSs capabilities One area of successful collaboration between WMO
in operationally generating and delivering up-to-date and C3S on GFCS implementation is data rescue. The
climate information and prediction products for climate WMO community has fostered data rescue activities
services, especially in support of climate adaptation worldwide through the implementation of the GFCS
and risk management. It supported the development International Data Rescue Portal (I-DARE)22. I-DARE
of global and regional systems architecture, mainly provides guidance and support for national data
through WMO Global Producing Centres for Long rescue over data sparse areas, activities that have
Range Forecasts (GPCs-LRF), Regional Climate Centres scaled up through a partnership with the Copernicus
(RCCs), and Regional Climate Outlook Forums (RCOFs). Data Rescue Service (DRS). The goal is to facilitate the
The GPC-LRFs, GPCs of Annual to Decadal Climate recovery of meteorological observations worldwide
Prediction (GPCs-ADCP) and the RCCs constitute by complementing the GFCS/I-DARE portal to discover
integral components of the GDPFS, which underpins and register either DARE projects, individual datasets
the generation of climate information products by the or provide new tools to scan data sources, digitize
NMHSs.There are currently 13 operational GPCs-LRFs, observations and quality control entries.
one Lead Centre on LRF Multi-Model Ensembles (MME),
three operational GPCs-ADCP, one Lead Centre on
ADCP, nine designated RCCs and three RCC- Networks, Research, modelling and prediction
along with twenty RCOFs actively supported by WMO
and regularly convened by Members. This pillar fosters research towards continually
improving the scientific basis of climate information,
The role of C3S and provides an evidence base for determining the
physical basis for the nature and impacts of climate
At present, regional and national entities have access change and variability and for evaluating the cost-
to global products, but require support in identifying effectiveness of using climate information. GFCS
the most robust signals and assessing information implementation has been advanced substantially
reliability and the likely future states of the climate. through the joint WMO/UNESCO-IOC/International
There is a role for enhanced collaboration between Science Council World Climate Research Programme
WMO and C3S in CSIS implementation at the regional (WCRP), which has made breakthrough contributions to
and national scales. Supporting Members in evaluating advancing climate science over the last four decades.
multiple sources of information and to identify which
products offer good skill for the parameters of interest Gaps in GFCS implementation include impact-
and ensuring regional coherence in dealing with orientated research in climate sensitive sectors – for
common climate drivers is an ongoing operational example, health assessments on heat thresholds. Large
requirement.The RCOFs provide a useful venue for this gaps also remain in the core technical and scientific
capabilities required in model development to meet
the new agendas of seamlessness across weather,
20 CCL was established under the auspices of the International
Meteorological Organization (IMO). World Meteorological
Organization (WMO) was incorporated in 1950 as a Spe- 21 WMO, 2019. Climate Services Toolkit (Website) Retrieved
cialized Agency of the United Nations, and the successor October 22, 2019, from http://www.wmo.int/cst/.
to IMO and continued the work of CCL (see https://library. 22 WMO, 2019. Climate Services Toolkit (Website) Retrieved
wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=5116). October 22, 2019, from http://www.wmo.int/cst/.10 Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
ECMWF
ECMWF
climate and Earth system science, of high resolution, effective climate services is the implementation of
fully coupled, Earth system modelling, and the advent WMO competency framework25 for the provision of
of exascale computing23. Improving skill for sub- climate services that ensures standardization of service
seasonal to seasonal time scales as well as annual to quality and delivery.
decadal forecasts and projections of long-term future
climates, including human impacts, is an ongoing WMO has long promoted the “twinning” of NMHSs who
requirement for climate-informed decision-making. have advanced their climate services implementation
Enhanced and sustained linkages between Members, with those wishing to do the same. WMO and C3S
RCCs and research communities is anticipated to collaboration could expand twinning arrangements
expedite the application of research advances in to better enable NMHSs:
operational weather and climate services. Linkages
with the ECMWF through C3S could be useful in this • accessing data, products and tools already available
regard. from WMO centres and C3S, and interpreting them
into services for stakeholders in their countries
Capacity development • to prepare action plans for the NFCS for increased
capacity to generate relevant data, products and
The GFCS aims to develop the capacity of countries services.
to generate, deliver and apply climate services, and
recognizes that all aspects of its foundational pillars Many of the advanced NMHSs that would be (and in
need an explicit focus on capacity development. The many cases already are) engaged in these twinning
GFCS Implementation Plan outlines the following arrangements are from Europe.
capacity development areas: governance, management,
human resources development, education and C3S has access to experts to develop the content
training, leadership, partnership creation, science for training, as does WMO through its technical
communication, service delivery, resource mobilization commissions and programmes. WMO can support
and infrastructure 24. Key to the development of delivery of training through its network and regional
training centres, whilst C3S can focus on the
23 Slingo, J. 2019: Review of the World Climate Research development of the training material and concepts,
Programme: Setting the Agenda for 21st Century Climate based on the wealth of data, tools and services. C3S
Research, WMO Bulletin, 68(1).
24 WMO. Implementation Plan of the Global Framework for
Climate Services. Geneva, Switzerland: World Meteorological 25 WMO. Executive Council Sixty-Eighth Session. Geneva,
Organization, 2014. Switzerland: World Meteorological Organization, 2016.WMO BULLETIN 11
Regional Climate Outlook Forums (RCOFs)
Many WMO Members use RCOFs as the primary RCOFs are key instruments in the implementation
platform for developing user-driven climate services of the CSIS pillar, and constitute a reliable source
and products at regional level.The RCOFs facilitate of state-of-science climate information. At the
knowledge transfer and regional collaboration and Ninth Session of the Mediterranean Climate
networking between climate service providers, Outlook Forum (MedCOF), jointly organized by
experts, user-sector representatives. Since the WMO and ECMWF in Croatia in November 2017,
late 1990s, RCOFs have evolved in the different ECMWF experts engaged with climate experts
regions, depending on the needs and capabilities and stakeholders in Southeastern Europe and
of the concerned region. But, their persisting presented an array of C3S products.
value is in bringing multiple stakeholders from
entire regions together to mainstream regionally C3S offers the possibility to rapidly evaluate and
consistent approaches to climate prediction and quality control products based on user interaction
to facilitate assessment of the potential impacts and feedback, which could be further leveraged.
on relevant socio-economic sectors.
can also contribute resource persons for climate This presents a number of important considerations for
services training activities as well as training the WMO Members and the community at large. Decisions
trainers activities.The WMO Global Campus can serve taken at Cg-18 outline a path forward.
as a basis for coordination.
Congress established an open consultative platform
“Partnership and innovation for the next generation
Considerations of weather and climate intelligence” (Resolution
79) and the “Geneva Declaration 2019: Building
C3S’s unfettered access to data, tools, and services Community for Weather, Climate, and Water Actions”
has enabled an emerging climate services market, (Resolution 80). Both recognize the opportunities for
which does not necessarily revolve around NMHSs. all stakeholders and the broader user community12 Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
The C3S AGRHYMET case
Seasonal hydrological forecasts have been part of season (May to November) and associated anomaly
the annual activities of the AGRHYMET Regional estimations, and hydrological climatologies and
Centre in West Africa for more than 20 years. As seasonal anomalies for the main river basins
part of a C3S demonstration project coordinated (Niger, Volta, Senegal Basins and Lac Chad). The
by the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological stakeholder meeting with the clients – the NMHSs
Institute, C3S data was used as an input to a of the Niger River Basin: Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger
hydrological catchment model (HYPE) model. and Nigeria – reported that the use of seasonal
climate data for hydrological rainfall-runoff
The methodology will be further developed modelling better responded to user needs than
and evaluated for use in annual hydrological the previously used empirical statistical methods
seasonal forecasting in West Africa, to facilitate of seasonal hydrological forecasting.
the estimation of cumulative rainfall in the rainy
that result from a closer collaboration among public, While a vast quantity of GFCS-relevant climate data
private and academic sectors. The decisions support is available worldwide, their large heterogeneity in
the evolving role of WMO as a facilitator in establishing terms of structure and quality control inhibit their
and expanding partnerships among stakeholders, use. C3S, on the other hand, offers a vehicle to
from public, private and academic sectors that operationalize WMO resolutions that enhance the
will significantly improve the availability of high- free and unrestricted exchange of meteorological,
quality weather, climate, water and other related hydrological and climatological data and products and
environmental information and services. They also enable access to the international infrastructure and
recognize the role of WMO in the development and facilities coordinated by WMO through its programmes.
promulgation of international standards to ensure the However, pursuit of this approach would require the
quality, interoperability and fit-for-purpose information recognition of the role NMHSs play in monitoring,
and services, and in promoting the adherence by all understanding and predicting weather, climate and
stakeholders to those standards. water forecasts and services.
Furthermore, the decision on “Data Policies and C3S and Member partnership arrangements should
Practices Supporting Members” (Resolution 56) acknowledge that outside Europe, C3S relies heavily
recognizes the WMO cascading data processing and on satellite data and does not offer climate services
forecasting system, emerging data and supply chain at the local spatial scale required to support decision-
decisions, and the need to define national mandates making. National data is critical for C3S to be relevant
and policies in relation to weather, climate and in a number of contexts. Partnership agreements
water data and services. It also highlights the need should acknowledge this contribution and ensure
to reimagine what high-impact services might look joint branding in services to better ensure national
like. It supports expanding the concept of impact- ownership as well as long-term sustainability.
based services into an integrated services approach,
where publicly-funded-data is freely accessible and It is also essential to recognize that the implementation
integrated with data from sector-based sources to of past Congress resolutions related to the unrestricted
develop more context-relevant and actionable services exchange of GFCS-relevant data remains inadequate .
that benefit users. A critical examination of the root causes should serve
as the basis to strategize an effective approach to
support cultural change. Possible solutions includeWMO BULLETIN 13 supporting Members in developing national legislation that recognize NMHS roles and responsibilities in delivering on resilience and adaption priorities and contributing to a number of internationally agreed global goals and frameworks. This could include joint branding and marking on all WMO (Member) data used to develop services. Engaging social scientists in the change process could help in framing and understanding the roles and responsibilities and ensure documentation of the evidence base required for systemic cultural change. Cg-18 gave clear directions on the need to review and update WMO data policies to take into consideration the current dynamics of the weather and climate enterprise with an ever growing role and engagement of private and academic sectors. Such a review is envisaged to inform the decisions of the next World Meteorological Congress extraordinary session in 2021. GFCS Future outlook Following the midterm review of the GFCS in 2017, WMO is strengthening partnerships to position the GFCS to structure the science, data and operations coherently to meet the climate crisis and the internationally- agreed goals set out in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement on Climate Change, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, The New Urban Agenda of Habitat III, and many more. WMO looks forward to working with Members and partners like ECMWF/C3S to ensure the best available science meets the demands of those most in need in a format that enables action.
14 Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
Sustainability of Atmospheric
Observations in Developing
Countries
By Paolo Laj1, Marcos Andrade2, Ranjeet Sokhi3, Claudia Volosciuk4 and Oksana Tarasova4
Climate change and air pollution have negative impacts climate, human health, food security and ecosystems,
on several aspects of human activities, especially the development of modelling tools has to be tailored to
on health and economies. Environment-related specific applications. Models need to be compared with
hazards – extreme weather events, failure of climate- measured atmospheric composition to be improved
change mitigation and adaptation, natural and human- and validated. Observational data on the atmosphere is
made disasters, water crises, biodiversity loss and also needed for model initiation and data assimilation.
ecosystem collapse – have ranked as the top global Therefore, the availability and sustainability of data
risks for three years running in the World Economic of known quality in terms of precision, accuracy and
Forum’s Global Risk Perception Survey. In the 2019 representation is of paramount importance to support
Survey, these risks accounted for three of the five improvement of modelling tools and applications.Yet,
most likely to occur and four of the five risks with important observational data are missing, especially
the highest potential impacts. It is more urgent than in developing countries.
ever, that WMO provides, as per its mandate, the best
available weather, climate, water and environmental
science and expertise as the foundation for mitigating Relevance in achieving global goals
these risks as well as for sustainable and resilient
development.1 2 34 Parties to the Paris Agreement on climate change
have agreed to work towards limiting the global
Long-term atmospheric measurements are key mean temperature rise to well below 2 °C above pre-
to delivering on this mandate. The past decade of industrial levels. Changing atmospheric composition
intensive research on atmospheric composition, health is an important driver of climate change. For instance,
and climate has closed many scientific gaps. It is now on the global scale, changes in concentrations of
possible to develop information products adapted to long-lived greenhouse gases (GHGs), such as carbon
a variety of policy-relevant applications such as the dioxide, have contributed to global warming, whereas,
identification of pollutant emission sources, production on the regional scale, compounds with shorter lifetimes
of reliable air quality forecasts and evaluations of the enhance or slightly reduce global warming.
effectiveness of emission reduction policies.
Atmospheric pollutants are also responsible for
In order to meet the needs of user communities working poor air quality, which causes an estimated seven
on the diverse impacts of atmospheric composition on million premature deaths every year (World Health
Organization, 2016). Even small amounts of air
1 Université Grenoble Alpes, France, and University of Helsinki, pollutants can have serious impacts on human
Finland
health. Fine particles are particularly harmful due to
2 Universidad Mayor de San Andres, Plurinational State of
Bolivia, and University of Maryland, USA their ability to penetrate deep into lungs and blood
3 University of Hertfordshire, UK streams. At the first World Health Organization (WHO)
4 WMO Secretariat Global Conference on Air Pollution and Health inWMO BULLETIN 15
Figure 1: Global distribution of GAW stations from the GAW Station Information System (GAWSIS). GAWSIS is the
official catalogue of GAW stations and Contributing networks. It provides the GAW community and other interested
people with an up-to-date, searchable data base of metadata related to atmospheric composition measurements.
2018, participants agreed on the aspirational goal of Atmospheric research infrastructure
reducing the number of premature deaths from air
pollution by two thirds by 2030. Capability to predict the In situ atmospheric observations are complex and
evolution of atmospheric composition and its impacts can involve multiple partners. Some are organized in
on human and ecosystem health starts with quantifying measurement networks, active at regional or global
emissions, as well as the transport, transformation scales, while others work almost independently. The
and deposition of gases and particulate matter, at the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) is a unique
relevant scale for policymaking. At the event, WMO coordinating body for many of these networks,
committed to improving the evidence of air pollution promoting coherent measurement protocols and
levels and to providing tools for forecasting and standards, data interoperability, and unique access to
preventing acute episodes of air pollution. information and data. Although still far from the full
global level of standardization and interoperability, it
A decrease in atmospheric pollutant concentrations is is evident that substantial progress has been made
the ultimate indicator of a successful policy to reduce in the last decade. GAW coordination has helped to
emissions, as demonstrated by the Convention on harmonize measurement techniques and observational
Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). quality among networks worldwide, and to process
To guide such policies, the observational gap in and provide access to data, implemented by different
developing countries needs to be bridged. organizations and programmes.16 Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
Surface-based observations are complemented by series of recommendations were derived from the
airborne and space-based observations that help presentations and follow-up discussions.
to characterize the upper troposphere and lower
stratosphere. Space-based observations provide Raising awareness and stimulating demand for
global coverage for many atmospheric parameters. observations and information on climate and air
Nevertheless, they are not sufficient to provide quality – of the kind provided by GAW at the user
information with the required degree of spatial and level – are important. GAW observations are more
temporal resolution needed for many applications, sustainable when embedded in an ongoing national
including those for scientific research, business programme. Establishing climate platforms at the
development and policymaking. While surface-based national level that would link with potential users on
observations remain indispensable for monitoring a sustainable basis would be beneficial. These may
atmospheric composition and are also required for the include policy stakeholders, ranging from national to
evaluation of satellite-derived retrievals, the capacity municipal level, representatives from industry and
is lacking in many parts of the developing world. land managers.
Currently, existing in situ observations are mainly Dialogue among stakeholders and representatives
based on infrastructure operated at the national level from research would help in building awareness at the
or by academic institutions at a smaller scale. They user level and provide a platform to articulate the needs
are sustained in only a limited number of regions in and demands of users in terms of the observations
the world, resulting in an inadequate distribution. and information on climate and air quality that are
While the current situation in Europe has improved required. Awareness may initially arise from the
thanks to the establishment of long-term research demand for specific information or application of high
infrastructures such as ICOS, IAGOS or ACTRIS, global interest to a country. Providing information in response
coverage is lacking, with substantial gaps in Africa, to this specific demand can stimulate dialogue and
Latin America and large parts of Asia (see Figure 1). extend the interest and support for other services
based on atmospheric observations − particularly
Although this may be due to difficulties making the in developing countries, where such considerations
data accessible through World Data Centres, for many have been limited.
areas of the world, the gaps are related to missing
observational infrastructure, particularly in emerging Holistic partnerships should be catalysed. Participation
economies. Reliable detection of trends in atmospheric in GAW activities is often not restricted to a single
chemical composition requires long (>10 years), high- partner (such as a National Meteorological and
quality records. Despite many initiatives, only a few Hydrological Service (NMHS)), and much of the success
stations in under-represented regions have managed of GAW is due to its enlargement to include relevant
to maintain operations for observing composition academic research communities. The academic
changes over more than a decade (for example, see community in a country can be a powerful partner,
the box on Chacaltaya station). Long-term funding providing high-quality data, advance technology
is required for such long-term measurements. This and advise on the scientific context of atmospheric
represents a continued commitment, which is difficult observations. Moreover, it can articulate the importance
to achieve for many economies. of GAW observations for environmental services and
motivate national support by raising awareness at
governmental agencies.
Key factors for sustainable observations
Examples of successful implementation are also linked
More than 50 scientists shared their experiences in to regional approaches. Focused engagement in one
implementing the GAW strategy around the world at region rather than in a single country may be more
a recent event on the Sustainability of Atmospheric purposeful in relation to air pollution monitoring. WMO
Observations in Emerging Economies. The following plays a key role in connecting countries regionally,
ensuring that the various national initiatives in aWMO BULLETIN 17
particular region mutually enrich each other, and and technologies that are impossible for NMHSs to
make full use of established networks and contacts. sustain (WMO, 2019, Resolution 74, Annex I).To address
WMO Strategic Objective 4.3, which calls for closing
In addition, international collaboration is crucial to the capacity gap on weather, climate, hydrological
success. A sound information and knowledge base and related environmental services through effective
derived from high-quality climate data is essential partnerships (WMO, 2019, Resolution 1), the WMO
to tackle the challenges related to climate variability Country Support Initiative (CSI) was established
and change. Systematic long-term monitoring of through Resolution 74 (WMO, 2019).The CSI will provide
the climate system is a fundamental prerequisite to advisory services aimed at increasing effectiveness of
understand its change and the resulting consequences, investments in such services.
and a key factor in decision-making at all levels. Climate
data and information also have direct relevance to Continued integrated GAW training and capacity-
policymaking in areas such as water management, building was unanimously called for by participants.
agriculture, disaster risk reduction, health and energy. Capacity-building should not be restricted to the
Long-term observations of GHGs and aerosol properties, technical dimension for maintaining operation
all considered Essential Climate Variables (ECVs), are at monitoring stations, but also include a wider
indispensable. level, to raise expertise in relation to science and
technologies, science management, adaptation
There was a clear view among participants, especially strategies, etc. It was seen as a prerequisite for partners
those from emerging economies, that WMO must in developing countries with emerging economies
continue to advocate for national stakeholders to to be actively involved in seeking funding on the
support ECV monitoring from ground-based networks national or regional levels, and through multilateral
as part of a more global Earth Observation System. development organizations and banks, engaged
WMO support was requested for explaining the local in climate information and services. Participation
benefits that monitoring atmospheric composition of women should be encouraged in general, and
changes will bring to a country, specifically those especially in training and capacity-building activities.
related to socioeconomic impacts in the short and An integrated approach would also target the affected
longer terms. communities and includes empowering local people
to make effective use of the environmental information
The investment required for operating an observational and services provided.
platform is substantial and does not end after equipment
installation. Development of autonomous samplers Capacity development is one of the strategic priorities
and analysers, capacity-building and relocation of of the WMO financial period 2020–2023. Within WMO,
observation capacity for specific species (such as the GAW Training and Education Centre (GAWTEC)
ozone) would be among priority actions. Existing is the only regular training facility for atmospheric
international cooperation, such as that with established composition observations. Since the first GAWTEC
networks and data centres, should be sustained and training course in 2001, more than 400 trainees
improved. It is also important that the international from 76 different countries have been trained at the
community supports countries that do not have the Environmental Research Station Schneefernerhaus.
capabilities or the capacities to install and maintain Current capacity-building activities also include
the observational infrastructure, and to perform the support for early career researchers to attend scientific
relevant measurements, analyses and quality control. conferences and training schools. In 2019, a new
Close collaboration among different partners such as course, Seamless Prediction of Air Pollution: From
NMHSs, environmental protection agencies, universities Regional to Urban, was offered as part of a new Africa
and research institutes will be key to success. Initiative. This was developped in partnership with a
recent GAW activity on Air Quality and Meteorological
Uncoordinated investments have led to a fragmented Predictions and Forecasting Improvements for Africa
flow of projects funded by development partners, often (PREFIA).
resulting in a patchwork of observation infrastructure18 Vol. 68 (2) - 2019
GAWTEC
GAWTEC
Participants arriving for their GAWTEC training (left) and participants during the GAWTEC 34th training session
which took place in October 2018.
Tailored implementation is the most sustainable Providing generalized suggestions that recommend a
approach. A distributed set of research sites that particular strategy is difficult as various options may
take the best possible advantage of the existing be developed and evaluated based on national laws,
infrastructure in other programmes would be most contexts and circumstances, and local communities.
cost-effective. Selection of the best location, measured For example, in the European Union, the research
variables and operating models is often based on an infrastructure is based on a common economic and
opportunity basis rather than a thorough scientific legal framework. Accounting for country- and region-
evaluation. specific implementation, WMO is seen as a key actor
to help develop clear communication and outreach
It is critical that new observational sites are selected strategies to ensure effective sharing of progress,
and implemented to fill gaps in the global observing lessons learned, experience and knowledge across
system.This can employ similar mechanisms as those all stakeholders and partners.
that will be developed for meteorological observations
in the Global Basic Observing Network (GBON), which
represents a new approach where the basic surface- Role of research funding
based observing network is designed, defined and
monitored at the global level. Typical research funding cycles are much shorter than
the timescales relevant to study climate change or to
Beyond the atmospheric component discussed here, detect changes in pollutant concentrations resulting
sites for integrated measurements should be identified from the implementation of air quality regulations.
for a global Earth observatory of 1 000 or more well- Therefore, the research infrastructure required to
equipped ground stations that track environments and generate time series long enough to analyse trends
key ecosystems comprehensively and continuously cannot be maintained through current research funding
(Kulmala, 2018). Priority sites for atmospheric and calls. A different type of mechanism specifically
integrated Earth system observatories should be designed to address long-term changes with projects
identified by expert teams involving local scientists that have a longer funding period is necessary.
and organizations (Kulmala, 2018).WMO BULLETIN 19
Project-based funding for initial research infrastructure can be obtained based on lessons learned from past
implies that a longer-term plan needs to be developed experiences.
to ensure continued operational observations beyond
the funding cycle. For example, the European Research
Infrastructure ACTRIS, including its quality assurance References
and quality control protocols, has been initiated
through research funding. Established research Kulmala, M., 2018: Build a global Earth observatory.
sites with core measurement capabilities and long- Nature, 553(7686):21–23.
term knowledge about regional photochemistry,
meteorology, ecosystem properties and biosphere– World Economic Forum, 2019:The Global Risks Report
atmosphere exchange processes are a critical resource 2019. Geneva.
for making and interpreting new measurements.
World Health Organization, 2016: Global Health
Beyond the scientific interest in trends, potential Observatory (GHO) data, https://www.who.int/gho/
synergies – and funding – exist with other agencies phe/air_pollution_mortality/en/.
that require information on the state of the atmosphere
based on long-term measurements. World Meteorological Organization, 2019: World
Meteorological Congress: Abridged Final Report of
the Eighteenth Session (WMO-No. 1236). Geneva.
Supporting atmospheric observations in
emerging economies
It is vital to work towards global coverage of ground-
based atmospheric observations to provide high-quality
information on climate and air quality, particularly by
addressing gaps in the observational networks of
developing countries. Existing observational sites
should be taken into account in order to optimize
costs, while support should be provided to those
struggling to maintain observations. For selection
of new observational sites, a thorough scientific
evaluation of the best location, measured variables and
operating model to fill the gaps is required, rather than
basing new sites purely on emerging opportunities.
Large-scale coordinated effort and commitment by
multiple partners – including NMHSs, environmental
protection agencies, the research community and
multiple funding agencies – are essential to ensure
support of observations for climate and air quality.
Strong local and national support is key to success
for long-term commitment in a country.
Expert teams should involve local scientists and
organizations to develop a tailored implementation
approach that takes local circumstances into account.
Support of the international community is crucial for
capacity-building and implementation of standardized
quality assurance and quality control protocols. AdviceYou can also read
