What is on the minds of Members of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as they celebrate its 75th anniversary? High on the agenda of China is the inauguration of the CMA International Cooperation and Training Centre (CMAICTC), an item that focuses on the Organization and community in its next 75 years, since capacity development (CD) cuts across all its priorities and programs, with education and training deemed essential for its success in the coming decades.
As is often echoed within the community, "If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together." This is especially important at a time when the global climate challenge and global sustainable development call for increasingly specific and granular meteorological services, international cooperation and training are seen as an underlying answer and fundamental solution. With this in mind, the CMAICTC was officially inaugurated on 28 April 2025.
By rehosting the WMO Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Beijing, CMAICTC has run five training workshops since its inception:
- Antigua and Barbuda Seminar on Climate Change Response and Sustainable Agricultural Development (Beijing and Xi'an, 9-29 June);
- International Training Course on AI Empowered Early Warnings for All (Shanghai, 9-13 June);
- International Training Course on Marine Meteorological Disaster Prevention and Mitigation for Indian Ocean Rim Countries (Beijing and Hangzhou, 11-24 June); Seminar on Management for Director-Generals of NMHSs in Developing Countries (9-22 July, Beijing, Nanning and Liuzhou); and
- Seminar on Climate Change Response and Green Development under GDI (9-22 July, Beijing and Hefei).
There were 159 international participants, mostly from Asia, Africa and Latin America. The demanding schedule tested the provider's organizational and infrastructural capacity. Fortunately everything concluded successfully, as noted and appreciated by several of the participants:
"It was a highly enriching and well-organized event that provided valuable insights and avenues for international collaboration", said Mr. Didier Kakpa, Director General of the National Meteorological Agency (Météo-Bénin). "From my observation and experience, CMA has made remarkable progress between 2017 and 2025, both in terms of technological advancement and institutional modernization. … China-Benin cooperation in meteorology holds great potential. … Promote South-South collaboration by creating networks of alumni who can continue exchanging knowledge and supporting each other."
"This training is so amazing," exclaimed Mr. Eron McPherson, Senior Meteorologist at the National Weather Watch Centre, Hydrometeorological Services, Guyana. "Tropical cyclone is one of the big phenomena that have so many impacts on weather condition. It's very importance for us as Meteorologist to Understand about Tropical Cyclone. For me, this training is very interesting, we have so many knowledge and sharing experience from Expert in China. Besides that, we also get some colleagues from other Meteorological Departments from other countries. That's was incredible. I'm very happy become one of participant in this training. I hope in future time; I can joint another Training in person like this from CMAICTC (especially in Aviation Topic, Satellite Topic, NWP Topic, and Observation Topic)."
"I have gained insights into AI-based forecasting, radar and satellite integration, oceanographic modeling, and disaster communication, and learned how to bridge forecasting with community preparedness and socio-economic resilience," said Mr. Carcen Mootien, Meteorologist at the Mauritius Meteorological Service (MMS). "The event has built my professional relationships with my counterparts from other NMSs as well."
When integrated, the classroom teaching, field practice and on-site teaching effectively helped the trainees improve their delivery of meteorological services. Additionally, visits to selected Chinese sectors-- such as meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, ecology, and the environment-as well as to well-known Chinese enterprises, enhanced their understanding of how meteorological services are developed and needed in related fields.
"The training allowed me to gain insights into the global early warning system, get exposed to cutting-edge technologies such as satellite observation, real-time ocean monitoring and AI-enhanced forecasting systems, and obtain some knowledge of artificial intelligence and big data applied to improved forecast accuracy, and better knowledge of disaster management," said Ms. Anan Sirithanyarat, Meteorologist at the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD), with emotion.
In addition to providing training, CMAICTC is also tasked with supporting high-profile CMA-sponsored international events, as exemplified by the launch of China's Solution to Early Warnings for All: MAZU at the 2025 World AI Conference (WAIC) held in Shanghai from 26 to 28 July.
In the remaining months of the year, CMAICTC will continue to provide support for other similar events, such as the WMO-sponsored Climate Services to Enhance Access to Climate Finance for Senior Directors of NMHSs, the China-Arab States Expo Meteorological High Quality Development Cooperation Forum, and the 4th China-ASEAN Meteorological Cooperation Forum, all of which are open to the WMO community as a whole.
Looking ahead, WMO will not pursue its mission by going it alone. Instead, it will take capacity development (CD) as a bridge to empower every country and every community to navigate the changing landscape. This is not about chasing, but about spearheading and pioneering the process of translating 'meteorological services for all' from vision to reality.
Only by developing human capacity first can we further advance technical operations and services. Moreover, "Partnership creates synergy." In this sense, the debut of CMAICTC can be seen as one of the most fitting tributes or spotlights from Members to the highly anticipated and promising WMO on its anniversary. As we embark on the next journey, we are poised to rise higher in all weathers-rain or shine.
Contributed by CHEN Jinyang, Jacky ZHANG Yong, XU Wanzhi, ZHOU Qi, JIANG Lei, and Victor JIA Ning on 31 July 2025
