Artificial Intelligence (AI) took centre stage at the 79th session of the WMO Executive Council
Artificial Intelligence (AI) took centre stage at the 79th session of the WMO Executive Council (EC) held at its headquarters from 16-20 June, which adopted several resolutions to ensure that WMO remains relevant and responsive to growing needs, despite constraints in resources, in a rapidly changing international environment. EC agreed on an AI action plan that will leverage its potential to revolutionize forecasting while upholding the highest scientific and ethical standards and the role of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) as the single authoritative voice on weather, climate and water-related warnings and services.
"We meet at a time of rising geopolitical complexity. Yet throughout this session, we have seen a clear willingness to focus on what unites us - to build consensus and to uphold WMO as a trusted space for science-based cooperation", said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo. "This is part of what makes WMO's model so unique: a model - built on cooperation, shared ownership, and Member-driven expertise - that allows us to achieve so much, even with limited resources", she told the closing session.
A new Joint Advisory Group on Artificial Intelligence will guide WMO activities on the development and use of AI technologies and will seek to accelerate integration of AI into the WMO infrastructure and research activities. The EC resolution has a targeted plan to develop technical guidelines on the use of AI-based Earth System prediction technologies in the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS). A WIPPS pilot study on global riverine flood prediction products will explore how new technologies and data from non-traditional sources can complement existing forecasting capabilities, especially in areas where capacity is limited.
"AI is rapidly reshaping how we work, creating a demand for new skills and increased adoption of AI Technology. We need to embrace this challenge, balancing short-term caution with long-term engagement with AI innovation and its expansion", said WMO President Abdulla Al Mandous. A WMO conference, "AI for Weather Prediction - Advances, Challenges & Outlook" will take place 9-11 September, hosted by the National Center of Meteorology at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The goal is to unite public, private and academic sectors to reduce barriers and improve weather prediction capabilities globally.
Other EC highlights:
- EC agreed to accelerate the rollout of the Early Warnings for All initiative .
- It gave its overwhelming backing to a youth action plan , setting the stage for a more impactful and inclusive approach to youth engagement within WMO
- It endorsed future research and operational activities, including on greenhouse gas monitoring
- It issued an updated statement on Weather Modification drafted by the World Weather Research Programme's Expert Team on Weather Modification
- It reaffirmed its commitment to the global agenda, to strengthened partnerships and to raise the profile of WMO within the United Nations
- It endorsed WMO's active participation in the Fifth International Polar Year (IPY-5), scheduled for 2032-2033.
EC also agreed to resolutions to hone its governance and administration to ensure that WMO can maximize its effectiveness, transparency and relevance. This includes consideration to the location and resourcing of WMO's regional offices.
Prof. Gerhard Adrian, former President of the German Meteorological Service (DWD) and past President of WMO was honoured EC with the IMO Prize - WMO's equivalent of the Nobel prize. In his prize lecture, he traced advances in numerical weather prediction over the past 50 years. EC named Prof. XU Jianmin, one of the founders of China's meteorological satellite system construction and a leader in satellite data application and services, as the next IMO prize nominee. He will collect the prize in 2026.
The EC discussions were informed by the outcomes of the Open Consultative Platform on 13 June, which brought together the WMO community, the private sector - namely Google, Microsoft and AccuWeather (for the Hydrometeorological and Environmental Industry Association, HMEI), as well as the Shanghai Academy of AI for Science. The EC decisions set the scene for October's Extraordinary World Meteorological Congress, which will mark the Organization's 75th anniversary, and which will focus on both AI and on Warnings for All - WMO's top overriding priority.
