WMO: Invest in Resilience as Climate Risks Intensify

News
5 May 2026

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has officially launched a new financing mechanism to safeguard the critical weather forecasting backbone, which underpins trillions of dollars in economic value and supports global stability.

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Illustration of a person at a desk using a computer, with a satellite, a weather map, and the WMO Commons logo in the background.
WMO Commons
WMO

The WMO Weather, Climate and Water Intelligence Commons (“WMO Commons”) seeks to mobilize at least 100 million US dollars over 5 years to finance global weather, climate and water monitoring, prediction, and service delivery systems.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo presented the WMO Commons in a keynote speech to a high-level roundtable event with financial, business and government leaders during Climate Week Zurich. She made a compelling investment case for strengthening the weather forecasting and observing network to build resilience to growing climate risks and keep the world protected and prepared.

According to Swiss Re, in 2024 alone, weather and climate-related related catastrophes caused US$ 318 billion in global losses, of which only 43% were insured. Extreme weather is the top long-term risk over the next ten-year- period, according to the World Economic Forum.

“Climate risk is increasingly expressed through weather. And weather risk is rapidly translating into economic risk,” she said.

Around the world, storms, floods, droughts, heatwaves and wildfires are disrupting operations, affecting supply chains, reducing labour productivity, straining health systems, increasing insurance losses and weakening public finances, she said.

The good news is that science has advanced dramatically, enabling investors to make more informed and smarter business and risk management decisions.

Forecast skill continue to improve. Today’s five-day forecast is as accurate as a three-day forecast 20 years ago, while one to four day forecast accuracy has improved by around 10–20%.

“Forecasts do not stop storms or droughts from happening. But they turn surprise into preparedness. And preparedness protects lives, assets and growth. Weather and climate intelligence today is not simply useful information. It is economic intelligence,” Celeste Saulo told chief executive officers and top decision-makers at the event hosted by Building Bridges.

  • It transforms uncertainty into lead time.
  • It allows businesses to reroute logistics.
  • It helps insurers price risk more accurately.
  • It supports governments in protecting citizens and infrastructure.
  • It enables investors to distinguish resilience from vulnerability.
Full press release