In this episode, hosts David Rogers and Alan Thorpe meet Thomas Frei to explore the economics of weather information, the increasing sensitivity of business and society to the weather, and the evolving roles of the public, private and academic sectors in the global weather enterprise.

Over the past two decades or so, great efforts have been made to create an economic framework for the provision of meteorological services. The main aim being to make a case to sustain or increase public investment in these services and so reduce the losses to life and property due to severe weather. Alongside this, the global weather enterprise has grown to meet increased demand for weather-related information to assist day-to-day business decision making and the development and application of new technologies.

Now though, we not only face the challenge of extreme weather, but we must also adapt to and mitigate the threat of imminent climate change. As a result, the demand for weather information to help decarbonise society and make it more resilient can only increase.

Thomas Frei is the CEO of Research and Consulting in Zurich since 2012. Prior to that Thomas worked for the Federal Office of Meteorological and Climatology in the Swiss Federal Department of Home Affairs.

Theme music by John Cockram, john@mjcmusic.co.uk