The WMO Commission for Basic Systems (CBS), which oversees the development, implementation and operation of integrated systems for observing and data processing, communication and management, held a recent session in Guangzhou, China, from 23 to 29 November where it elected a new President and Vice-President.
More than 200 participants attended the session which was hosted by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA). Mr Michel Jean, who is Director General of the Canadian Centre for Meteorological and Environmental Prediction at Environment and Climate Change Canada, was elected President. Ms Jiao Meiyan, who is Deputy Administrator of CMA, was elected Vice-President. They succeed Frederick Branski (USA) and Sue Barrell (Australia).
At the opening ceremony, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas highlighted that weather, climate and water areas are now firmly on the international agenda for sustainable development, disaster risk reduction and climate change. “Therefore, the WMO community needs to further strengthen the basic functional pillars and ensure the enhanced basic systems infrastructure to effectively support sustainable development.”
The World Meteorological Congress has tasked CBS to take a leading role in reviewing the challenges and risks, opportunities and benefits related to big data, crowd-sourced data and social media.
