More WMO Centres and Products Needed for Early Warnings for All

The issuing of timely and effective Early Warnings for All will require that National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) access a set of key forecasts, advisories and outlooks products from the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS). WIPPS World Meteorological Centres (WMCs) play pivotal roles in processing observations, producing predictions, and delivering prediction products to all WMO Members and relevant operational organizations. The second WIPPS WMC Workshop, held in Geneva last November to facilitate the implementation of new requirements, yielded recommendations that will permit WMO and NMHSs to deliver on the promise of Early Warning for All.

The hybrid event, which gathered over 50 participants from WMCs and the WMO Technical Commissions and Research Board, discussed actions to address gaps in WIPPS, new opportunities for using an Earth system approach, and capacity development to enhance the use of WIPPS products. Participants from WMCs, Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs), and Regional Training Centres (RTCs) also shared best practices and needs related to capacity development for the initiative. 

The workshop generated recommended actions for WMCs, the Commission for Observation, Infrastructure and Information Systems (INFCOM) and other WMO bodies. The outcomes will be reported to the third session of INFCOM in April. One action is the identification of Members with the potential to host WIPPS Designated Centres for activities such as limited-area Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), nowcasting and hydrological predictions. Access to these products can enhance Members’ capabilities to generate forecasts and warnings; but the current number of such designated Centres is insufficient to cover all Members. Another recommendation is to improve the accessibility and usability of WIPPS products. The WMCs agreed with the proposal to increase their mandatory products, including the addition of some impact-related indices relevant to hazards. Another recommendation concerned the gathering of requirements for graphical products to enhance the usability of WIPPS products by a wider range of Members. Improvements to the WIPPS Web Portal and quality of discovery metadata of WIPPS products were deemed crucial for the better discoverability of products. Some of the recommended actions will be included in the future workplan of INFCOM. 

The workshop recommendations will enhance collaboration and bring WMO a step closer to achieving the Early Warnings for All goal.