WIGOS is a core WMO activity and a basic WMO infrastructure element supporting all WMO programmes and application areas. It enables WMO and its Members accomplish their shared mission to help save lives, protect property and increase prosperity everywhere on the globe, and provide relevant data and information for policy- and decision making in support of sustainable development.
WIGOS provides the global framework, the management and design tools so that all providers of meteorological and related environmental observations can optimize their investment in user-driven measurement capabilities that in combination will help meet as many requirements as effectively and efficiently as possible.
The development of WIGOS is requirements-driven with a clear orientation to public health, disaster risk reduction, water resource management and food security, renewable energy, tourism, travel, insurance, to mention just a few, as an enabler for sustainable development.
A comprehensive review of new priorities and requirements will be crucial for WIGOS to respond to user needs for observations of specified spatial and temporal resolution, accuracy and timeliness. In doing so, WIGOS will build upon and add value to the existing surface and space-based subsystems, while providing a foundation for the integration of new and emerging observational technologies.
WIGOS requires partnerships across borders, disciplines and organizations. Collaboration and cooperation is key. By providing more timely and accurate information, NMHSs help decision-makers protect populations and prevent natural hazards from becoming disasters. Investments in weather, climate and water information and services produce an economic return many times greater than the original amount invested, and represent an investment in well-being and prosperity for all.
During the WIGOS operational phase, NMHSs are expected to take on greater responsibility for the national implementation of WIGOS and use the framework provided by WIGOS to exert leadership in the acquisition and management of meteorological and related environmental observations at the national level. The NMHSs are thus expected to become the key integrators at the national level, both by strengthening their own observing systems in accordance with the WMO Technical Regulations, and by building national partnerships and providing national leadership based on their experience in the acquisition, processing and dissemination of observational data for environmental monitoring and prediction purposes.
