The project supports the enhancement of capabilities of the national hydro-meteorological services of WMO Members, through the Education and Training Programme and the Fellowships it coordinates. Its purpose is to educate and train meteorological and hydrological personnel using specially-tailored individual and group study sessions, complemented by management and familiarization visits for senior personnel. Training facilities within each region will be used.
WMO Fellowships invests in people in order to increases their ability to make essential contributions to enhancing the capabilities of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in their home countries. The benefits of WMO Fellowships are felt for many years as Fellows share their experience and learning with their colleagues. Training is provided mainly abroad on subject areas and technologies for which facilities and teaching expertise are not available at home. The categories of education and training include basic university degree studies, post-graduate degree studies, non-degree studies, specialized training courses, on-the-job training, as well as technical training for the operation and maintenance of equipment.
In addition, the project facilitated the participation of 30 scientists and specialists in the World Weather Open Science Conference held in Montreal, Canada, in August 2014. The Conference, which covered a range of science and application issues relevant to the modelling, prediction and use of weather information, created a platform to debate and inform future weather research priorities and how best to address the need for weather information in decision-making in a range of user sectors. Fundamental science topics related to the understanding of the various components of the atmosphere, land, cryosphere and ocean, how they interact and how they contribute to better models and predictions of the weather were debated. The societal and economic applications of environmental predictions, such as energy, agriculture, air and water quality and quantity, health, tourism, transport, insurance, and urban environments/megacities were also covered.
Events of this nature are rare and this conference provided a unique opportunity for young scientists, researchers, application experts and users to interact, build networks and share their perspectives of the developing world. Special effort was taken to facilitate the active involvement of the supported scientists in the proceedings to ensure a legacy of ongoing involvement in the global research effort after their attendance.
This project is part of the programme for Implementing the Global Framework for Climate Services at Regional and National Scales