WMO Information System boosts data exchange for disaster risk reduction,  forecasting, predictions and service delivery for food security and health

Last month the World Meteorological Organization released a new, more accessible and free international system that improves upon the current exchange of weather, climate and water data. The WMO Secretary-General, Michel Jarraud, said that “the WMO Information System is the pillar of our strategy for managing and moving weather, climate and water information in the 21st century.”

 

The WMO Information System, or WIS, connects and integrates information from three types of data centres:

• National Centres collect and distribute data on a national basis. They generate quality controlled analysis and forecast products, and services, including archiving national climate information. The National Meteorological or Hydrological Service coordinate or authorize the use of the WIS by national users.

• Data Collection or Production Centres are similar to National Centres but focus on thematic, regional or global collection and/or production of sets of data, forecast products, processed or value-added information, and/or for providing archiving services.

• Global Information System Centres connect to each other through a high speed private network. They rapidly share information meant for routine global dissemination that they collect from National Centres and Data Collection or Production Centres in their area of responsibility . They also  serve as distribution centres into their areas of responsibilities. Global Information System Centres provide entry points, through unified portals and comprehensive metadata catalogues, for any request for data exchanged within the WIS. They also provide the connection to other information systems such as the Global Earth Observation System of Systems.