WMO Executive Council meets to discuss challenges, opportunities – including AI
The promise of Artificial Intelligence to revolutionize forecasts and help build resilience to more extreme weather and climate impacts is high on the agenda of the World Meteorological Organization’s Executive Council, which opened its annual session today.
- EC discusses future strategic priorities
- WMO must move faster – with fewer resources
- AI has potential to revolutionize generation and use of forecasts
- WMO services are vital to global economy and society
The five-day meeting of the Executive Council will address progress on priority initiatives such as Early Warnings For All. It will also seek to ensure that the WMO community continues to deliver its life-saving services and trusted science in a rapidly changing, more uncertain world.
WMO President Abdulla Al Mandous said WMO must become “more effective, more efficient, and far more responsive to the challenges facing humanity and the urgent needs of the people we serve.”
The EC session takes place during the 75th anniversary of WMO, which has the particularly apt theme of Science for Action.
“WMO has always been a place where cooperation precedes crisis. Where data is openly shared. Where operational trust is not aspirational — it is daily practice,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
“That foundation remains our strength. But the world around us is shifting. And we must decide — together — how to evolve, preserving our core identity and coming out stronger on the other side,” she said.
“There is no resilient development, no food security, no disaster risk reduction, no climate action — without the services, science and infrastructure that we, collectively, provide,” she said.
Rather than purely looking back on past achievements, the 75th anniversary has a forward-looking approach. This emphasizes the value of WMO services to the global economy and society, and the potential to unlock even more benefits for the global good.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence exemplifies the need for an agile, proactive and responsive WMO – and the need to prioritize investments and innovation in Earth observations and sciences.
“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 Abdulla Al Mandous, who chairs EC.
AI is already widely used by National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and it has the potential to revolutionize how forecasts are generated, shared, and acted upon. But it is not a panacea.
The research and operationalization of such new approaches is expected to accelerate in the coming decade, providing new opportunities for meteorological, climate and hydrological services at an unprecedented use scale.
As AI and machine learning increasingly permeate Earth system science, the WMO Executive Council will discuss how ensure that these tools are reliable, sustainable and grounded in WMO standards – in particular the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS).
A high-level session of the Open Consultative Platform on public-private sector engagement on Artificial Intelligence brought together representatives of the WMO community, Big Tech and academia to share knowledge and experience on the opportunities and challenges ahead.
Strategic Positioning
The Executive Council will discuss WMO’s strategic priorities at a time when the WMO Secretariat is being asked to do more, and to move faster, with fewer resources.
One of the top priorities remains ensuring that everyone is covered by Early Warning services by the end of 2027. Early Warnings for All remains “within reach, said the WMO President.
“We are witnessing tangible progress, and this success is fortified by our indispensable allies,” he said.
The Systematic Observations Financing Facility acting as our shield by closing critical data gaps.
The Climate Risk and Early Warnings Systems Initiative, our sword, translating data into immediate, actionable warnings.
WMO remains under-recognized in the wider United Nations and multilateral system – at a time of reforms and restructuring as part of the UN80 initiative and to cope with growing budgetary constraints.
This must change, said Celeste Saulo.
This is not a communication problem. It is a strategic positioning challenge. And it is solvable — if we align our narrative with broader global priorities, and if we demonstrate impact in terms that others understand, she said.
When we talk about data exchange, let’s connect it to diplomacy and security.
When we discuss warnings, let’s link them to public trust and institutional legitimacy.
When we invest in hydrology, let’s show how it underpins peace and agricultural and food systems.
“What we offer is not minor. It is essential infrastructure. It is continuity. It is foresight. And it is global public good in its purest form,” she said.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation in atmospheric science and meteorology.
WMO monitors weather, climate, and water resources and provides support to its Members in forecasting and disaster mitigation. The organization is committed to advancing scientific knowledge and improving public safety and well-being through its work.
For further information, please contact:
- Clare Nullis WMO media officer cnullis@wmo.int +41 79 709 13 97
- WMO Strategic Communication Office Media Contact media@wmo.int