German Foreign Minister visits WMO

During a visit on 24 February, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas was informed about World Meteorological Organization efforts to support the global agenda on climate change, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.

WMO President Gerhard Adrian (President of the Deutscher Wetterdienst) highlighted WMO’s work to protect lives and livelihoods through the best possible weather, climate and water services, including initiatives such as the planned Global Multi-Hazard Alert System.

Multilateral cooperation and partnerships _ along with transparency and trust _ are key to the success of WMO’s vision to build a world where all nations are more resilient to the socioeconomic impact of extreme weather, climate, water and other environmental events, said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Elena Manaenkova,

Germany is one of the top financial contributors to the Climate Risk and Early Warning System Initiative (CREWS). This is one of the main WMO vehicles to support Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States in generating and using impact-based early warnings to increase resilience.

Germany is also a leading supporter of Forecast based Finance which provides access to humanitarian funding for early action based on in-depth forecast information and risk analysis.

Germany assumes Presidency of the UN Security Council in July and WMO offered to provide scientific input, especially on climate change and water..

“Climate change will impact us most through water, and water availability is key to sustainable and peaceful development” said Johannes Cullmann, who coordinates water and cryosphere issues at WMO. WMO is seeking to bolster UN-wide efforts to improve water management and monitoring and accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water.

The theme for this year’s World Meteorological Day on 23 March is Climate and Water