Climate
WMO coordinates the study of the climate, its variations, extremes and trends and collaborates with partners worldwide to study the socio-economic climate impacts that support evidence-based decision-making to manage risks and adapt to a changing climate.
Overview
All life on Earth depends on the climate system, which consists of five major components: the atmosphere; the hydrosphere (oceans, lakes, and rivers); the cryosphere (ice and snow); the lithosphere (land surface), and the biosphere (living organisms).
The complex interactions and influences between these components, such as the exchange of energy, water, and carbon dioxide, determine our climate patterns and variability.
By observing and monitoring components of the climate system such as temperature, precipitation, air pressure, ice cover, and carbon cycles over a long period, we can better understand the climate, what drives changes to it and build climate models to predict our future climate.
WMO coordinates the study of the climate, its variations, extremes and trends and collaborates with partners worldwide to study the socio-economic climate impacts that support evidence-based decision-making to manage risks and adapt to a changing climate.
Impact
The climate system changes in time under the influence of its own internal dynamics and because of external forcings such as volcanic eruptions, solar variations, orbital forcing, and anthropogenic forcings including changes in the composition of the atmosphere and land-use.
Human influence contributes to increased warming of the atmosphere, ocean and land largely through activities that increase greenhouse gas emissions. The shifts in the long-term average of weather variables and patterns are defined as climate change. Climate variability and change can impact virtually every aspect of society, including food production, health, housing, energy, water resources, safety, tourism, finance, and transportation.
The monitoring of climate conditions and the prediction of what the next season will bring, or how our climate will change in the coming years, are critical for sustainable economic development.
WMO's response
WMO supports its Members to understand the Earth’s climate on global to local scales by developing technical standards for observing instruments and ensuring that the collected data are quality controlled and comparable, by monitoring the current climate, and by ensuring skillful predictions of the climate over the coming weeks, months, seasons and years as well as longer term projections to understand past, present and future climate evolution.
Working across meteorology, hydrology, ocean science and climate services, WMO ensures that interactions and interconnectedness are reflected in integrated climate information and coordinated support across sectors.
This information is essential for climate-smart decision-making at all levels to deal with climate risks. Through the establishment of international standards, WMO guides global efforts to harmonize climate observations and data, ensuring that long-term climate analysis and monitoring are possible. Numerous countries lack adequate climate science infrastructure and so WMO supports national meteorological and hydrological services in improving climate modeling, modernizing forecasting systems and strengthening planning, particularly important for developing countries.
WMO helps different sectors make climate-smart decisions by collaborating with our Members to regularly produce and disseminate global climate predictions and outlooks, including seasonal climate forecasts, drought monitoring, flood forecasting, heatwave alerts, and multi-hazard early warning systems. Key products include bulletin such as the El Niño/La Niña Update, and the Global Seasonal Climate Update.
For over three decades WMO has published the State of the Global Climate reports, providing a timely, consolidated global assessment of the year’s climate conditions. Regional State of Climate reports are produced for Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean; South-West Pacific and Europe (with the Copernicus Climate Change Service). Together these reports provide annual updates on the state of the global climate and in different regions, as observed and constitute credible scientific summaries on climate and its evolution.
Importantly, in connecting climate science to real-world impacts on people, food security, water resources, health and ecosystems, these reports not only track changes to climate, but support early warnings and preparedness. In identifying evolving hazards, these reports support national preparedness efforts and humanitarian planning, in line with the global Early Warnings 4 All initiative, which aims to ensure every person on the planet is protected through life-saving multi-hazard early warning systems by 2027.
WMO co-sponsors several initiatives including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC along with the UN Environment Programme); the World Climate Research Programme; and the Global Climate Observing System) to strengthen scientific understandings of the climate system and ensure easy access to international reviewed climate science.
