WMO Bulletin showcases the dividends of climate research, data and services
The new WMO Bulletin focuses on the Dividends of Climate Research, Data and Services, setting the scene for the Organization’s 75th anniversary in 2025 and highlighting achievements, priorities, challenges and opportunities.
In the foreword, 2025 - Celebrating 75 Years of WMO Science for Action, Secretary-General Celeste Saulo writes that the threat of climate change makes the role of WMO more critical today than at any time since its creation in 1950.
“Through perseverance and dedication, WMO Members have created, maintained and extended the Earth system observation network and shared the collected data, have continuously improved and refined forecasting and services, have improved capacity through knowledge sharing and have invested in further research and development,” she writes.
“Today many challenges lay ahead. Climate change is impacting our lives, early warnings are a priority to save lives and mitigate disaster risk, and more science and research is needed to further improve the quality of forecasts and to guide policy and decision-making,” writes Celeste Saulo.
The WMO Bulletin is published twice per year and features articles from the scientific community, WMO Secretariat staff and Members. The themes in the latest edition are all pertinent to the UN Climate Change conference, COP29, and to WMO’s 75th anniversary.
The Triple Dividend of Resilience (TDR) framework examines a systematic approach to evaluate the benefits of climate resilience investments.
- Avoiding economic losses when hazard strike
- Stimulating economic activity thanks to reduced disaster risk even when no hazard occurs
- Generating development co-benefits
It uses the case study of Mozambique which implemented lessons learned from Cyclone Idai (2019) to save lives and livelihoods from Cyclone Freddy (2023).
Early Warnings for All: Empowering All to Climate Action shows the urgency for early warning systems (EWS) to mitigate increasing impacts of the climate crisis. These systems are about saving lives, protecting livelihoods and empowering communities to take decisive action.
The Cryosphere – the Canary in the Coal Mine of the Climate System: Coal mines once used canaries as early indicators of potential danger: their sensitivity to poisonous gases caused their early demise during gas leaks, sounding a danger alarm for miners. Today, “canary in the coal mine” is commonly used to express alert for environmental dangers – as examplified by the crysophere. The article examines the impacts, the need for more observations, and the importance of the International Year for the Preservation of Glaciers in 2025.
A Science and Technology Vision for WMO: Now is the time for the Organization to focus further on translating global scientific advances into locally impactful environmental services, especially for middle- to low-income countries, while engaging users and stakeholders, providing training and support, and fostering international cooperation, write the authors.
IMO Prize Lecture 2024: Ensemble Weather and Climate Prediction – From Origins to AI features the IMO Prize presentation from Tim Palmer, Royal Society Research Professor in Climate Physics and a Senior Fellow at the Oxford Martin Institute. The winner of WMO’s top scientific award lays out his vision for the future in A CERN for Climate Change.
The Pearl of Climate Action: Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment and Empowering the Next Generation: WMO Youth Climate Action examine how WMO is strengthening policies in the critical areas of gender equality and youth leadership.
Agrometeorological Information for Climate Resilient Agriculture in Bangladesh provides a practical case study on supporting climate sensitive sectors.