Seamless prediction of the earth system: from minutes to months

This new WMO publication provides a consolidated road map for future weather research to foster the science needed to make society less vulnerable to high-impact weather.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released a publication that provides a consolidated roadmap for future weather research in order to foster the science required to reduce the vulnerability of society to high-impact weather. The publication, ‘Seamless Prediction of the Earth System: From Minutes to Months,' synthesizes discussions and outcomes of the World Weather Open Science Conference held in Montreal, Canada, in August 2014. For the first time ever, the Conference brought together the weather science and user communities to review the most recent developments in the field and map out the future scientific frontiers. The publication provides a compilation of white papers describing the state of the science and the major challenges for making advances in the future. It includes chapters on: observations and data assimilation; predictability, processes and interaction between subsystems; numerical prediction of the Earth system; and weather-related hazards and impacts. In short, the report: describes a point in time and the knowledge that has been accumulating on weather science; points the way to future developments; should be of interest to researchers and practitioners; and aims to inspire the next generation of weather scientists.