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Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization
A unique operational system, composed of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services
(NMHSs) of WMO’s 189 Members, as well as over 50 regional meteorological and climate specialized
centres appropriately distributed throughout the world, enables the countries to develop and issue timely
early warnings concerning extreme weather and climate events, on time scales ranging from next-hour
nowcasting to week-long forecasts or even seasonal climate forecasts, depending on the kind of hazards.
These operational warning capabilities and forecasting tools, based on 24 hours a day, seven days a week
observations and the outputs of the latest scientific prediction models, are currently made available to
all countries, irrespective of their actual level of development, provided that they can make just the basic
investment needed to access this information through their respective NMHSs.
Every year many countries experience significant human and economic losses across various sectors, in
particular on account of hydrometeorological hazards which have the potential to set back their development
considerably. Furthermore, the mounting frequency and severity of these hazards, which is often linked to
climate variability and change, compounded with the increasing vulnerabilities associated with precarious or
non-sustainable development, are presently posing significant challenges to many societies.
Scientific progress over the last decades, especially in terms of climate modelling and forecasting, provide
unprecedented opportunities today for access to sector-specific decision-supportive climate information,
which can considerably facilitate risk analysis and medium to long-term planning across numerous vulnerable
sectors. The third World Climate Conference (WCC-3, Geneva, 2009) highlighted the relevance of climate
information and predictions for decision making and agreed to establish a Global Framework for Climate
Services (GFCS) to strengthen the production, availability, delivery and application of science-based climate
prediction and services. These climate services will also be increasingly integrated in international disaster
prevention and mitigation strategies, policies and operational plans to advance in disaster risk reduction.
WMO is collaborating with all its international partners, in the United Nations System and beyond and
across all disciplines and networks, with the primary objective of saving lives and protecting property and
livelihoods. The GFCS will contribute decisively to the achievement of this key mission, in particular by
operationalizing the availability of science-based climate information and predictions and by supporting
climate-risk management and adaptation across all socioeconomic sectors.
Michel Jarraud
Secretary-General
World Meteorological Organization
2029a