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GWE FORUM Webinar on 28 October

Global Weather Enterprise Forum webinar, 28 October –  'Unlocking the Benefits of Open Weather Data'

The Global Weather Enterprise Forum (GWE Forum) will host its second webinar on Wednesday 28 October. Scheduled to take place at 09.00 US Eastern Daylight Time, 13.00 GMT, it will feature an expert presentation titled 'Unlocking the Benefits of Open Weather Data'.

The presentation will be delivered by Prof. Dr. Gerhard Adrian, President of the WMO and President of the German Weather Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD). It will be followed by an audience Q&A session.

The webinar will explore the issues surrounding open data in the context of weather and climate data and services. New government-level policies, such as the European Union Open Data Directive, are likely to have a significant impact on the delivery of meteorological and climate services. There is the potential for unlocking significant socio-economic benefits from the application of such policies.

In the presentation, Prof. Dr. Adrian will address the implications of open data policies from his perspective as the President of DWD.

The webinar will be introduced by Sameh Wahba, the Global Director for the World Bank’s Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice.

Following the presentation, webinar participants are encouraged to take part in the ensuing discussion that could consider topics such as the implications of open public data to:

  • developing countries, national meteorological and hydrological services, 
  • the private sector including proprietary data, and
  • the role of the World Meteorological Organisation at the international level.

This event will mark the second of an ongoing series of webinars and other media events organised by the GWE Forum which are likely to be of interest to a broad audience interested in learning more about innovations in accurate weather forecasting and the use of weather-related data to save lives, improve business efficiency, and build social and economic resilience.

  • For further information on the upcoming event, contact the GWE Forum coordination group at gwef@gweforum.org

  • The webinar is free to attend and open to everybody. Registration details are provided below.

Registration

To register for the webinar, click here: Register Here

To connect to the webinar, click here: Connect

About the participants

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Adrian

Prof. Dr. Gerhard Adrian is President of the World Meteorological Organization. He has been President of the German Weather Service (Deutscher Wetterdienst, DWD) since 2010 and also the Permanent Representative of Germany with WMO since 2010.

Prior to that Prof. Dr. Adrian served as German Weather Service Vice-President. From 1999 to 2011, he was the Head of Business Area “Research and Development” and Member of the Executive Board of Directors of the DWD.

He has served as an Adjunct professor of Meteorology at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, since 2003. He is also the Head of the German delegation to the World Meteorological Congress of WMO, to the Council of the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites, and to the Council of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Prof. Dr. Adrian is a member of the Executive Board of the German Committee for Disaster Reduction and the Board of Trustees at the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg, Germany. He received his graduate degree in Meteorology in 1981 and completed his Ph.D. in Natural Sciences in 1985.

 

Sameh Wahba

Sameh Wahba, an Egyptian national, is the Global Director for the World Bank’s Urban, Disaster Risk Management, Resilience and Land Global Practice, based in Washington, D.C.

The Global Practice, which also covers territorial development, geospatial and results-based-financing issues, has a portfolio of close to $30 billion in commitments in investment projects, program-for-results and development policy lending, and about 450 staff. Prior to this, Mr. Wahba served as the Director for Urban and Territorial Development, Disaster Risk Management and Resilience at the World Bank Group’s Social, Urban Rural, and Resilience Global Practice, where he oversaw the formulation of the World Bank’s strategy, design, and delivery of all lending, technical assistance, policy advisory activities, and partnerships at the global level.

Forum launches The WeatherPod

GWE Forum Members are invited to listen to a new podcast dedicated to providing and using accurate and reliable weather information and services to save lives, build economic and social resilience, and enhance business efficiency.

The WeatherPod is published monthly and is co-hosted by GWE Forum Members, Alan Thorpe, a former Director General of the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), and David Rogers, a former CEO of the UK Met Office and lead meteorological consultant at the World Bank and Global Facility for Disaster Reduction & Recovery (GFDRR).

In each episode, Alan and David invite a guest speaker to discuss key aspects of weather and climate information and the role the public, private and academic sectors can play in addressing the growing societal challenges related to hydromet hazards – from data and information processing and distribution, to its use by growing numbers of weather affected ‘end users’ across business and society.

New publications

Mind the Gap: Addressing Critical Technical Issues in Strengthening National Hydrometeorological Services

This Technical Note is aimed primarily at professionals in National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), who are trying to improve the quality and relevance of their services to match their societies’ growing needs for meteorological and hydrological information.

At the same time, the Note serves as a useful resource for the experts and teams involved in the activities and projects that tackle various aspects of transforming hydromet services. It provides insight into some of the technical challenges that NMHSs face and suggests approaches to addressing these challenges.

Learning from Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems to Respond to Pandemics

Having a common framework for early action to cope with complex disasters can make it easier for authorities and other stakeholders, including populations at risk, to understand the full spectrum of a disaster’s secondary and tertiary effects and thus where to focus preparedness efforts, and how best to provide more targeted warnings and response services.

Meteorological and hydrological services worldwide have developed and implemented Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS) for weather- and climate-related hazards; these are now being expanded and transitioned toward Multi-Hazard Impact-Based Early Warning Systems (MHIEWS). While it is still early, it is becoming clear that this approach has useful lessons for the COVID-19 global pandemic, and some valuable insight to be gained in risk communication, risk analysis, and monitoring methodologies and approaches.

The ability to understand and respond effectively to warnings through appropriate behaviors and actions is central to resilient societies and communities. By avoiding physical, societal, and economic harm to the greatest extent possible, recovery from a hazard is likely to be faster, less costly, and more complete. MHIEWS can be a common approach for all hazards and therefore is more likely to become a trusted tool that everyone can understand and use as a basic element of their national disaster risk management system.

The interconnectedness of hazards and their impacts is a strong motivator for a common approach. One of the lessons from both the COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather events is the need to understand the vulnerability of individuals, communities, and societies so as to provide reliable, targeted guidance and warnings and ensure the willingness and capacity to prepare for a reasonable worst-case scenario based on informed long-term planning. Meteorology and hydrology are making good progress in this direction, and the process can be readily applied to health and other sectors.

About the GWE Forum

The Global Weather Enterprise Forum (GWE Forum) is an international engagement of individuals and organisations in the public, private and academic sectors of the Global Weather Enterprise which share the common goal of providing accurate and reliable weather information and services that save lives, protect infrastructure and enhance economic output.

 
www.gweforum.org