Region IV: North America, Central America, the Caribbean

The region's geographical extent and great diversity include ecosystems from the Arctic to the equator, such as tropical forests, islands, deserts, snow-covered landscapes and high mountains, representing a wide range of weather, water, and climate challenges.
An aerial view of a small island in the ocean.
Islet of Santa Cruz Island in the middle of the sea, in the background the island of Tintipan seen from the air in the archipelago of San Bernardo near the Rosario Islands in Cartagena, Colombia.
Adobe Stock Jhampier Giron

The WMO Region IV comprises 27 Members that fall within the scope of the WMO Regional Office for the Americas (RAM), which are served through the Representative Office for North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NCAC).

Due to its geographical complexity, the region is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, droughts, floods, coastal surges, tornadoes and others, all of which are exacerbated by climate change. This situation calls for a multi-hazard early warning system and robust hydrometeorological services.

In terms of socio-economic parameters, WMO Region IV is composed mainly of developing economies many of which are small island developing states, but it also includes large developed countries, and on the opposite side it has least developing countries. This is reflected in the Human Development Index that ranges from very high human development to low human development in the region.

To facilitate the exchange of data and expertise to better prepare the region, the WMO Regional Office for the Americas articulates activities with key partners such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO), the Coordination Centre for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC), the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), the Regional Committee on Hydraulic Resources (CRRH), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the UN Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), among others. The focus is also on socioeconomic factors to contribute to the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

المشاريع في المنطقة

Support of the Hydrometeorological Unit of Haiti (UHM) for sustainable operability and the implementation of a relevant and efficient hydrometeorological warning system (CREWS Haiti)

Haiti is the only least-developed country in the Caribbean, and is further classified as a small island developing state (SIDS). Haiti scored “very high” on the 2018 INFORM Risk Index. Moreover, the World Bank’s “Natural Disaster Hotspot Study” ranked Haiti as one of the countries with the highest exposure to multiple hazards, and the SIDS with the highest vulnerability to tropical cyclones. The vulnerability of the Haitian population is caused by the exposure to hydrometeorological events including tropical storms and cyclones, earthquakes, landslides, floods, droughts as well as demographic factors such as poverty, high population density, the presence of settlements in low-lying areas and floodplains. Moreover, a lack of political stability, fiscal problems and weak public infrastructure increase the risk for the population. An essential step to achieve resilience to climatic shocks and a sustained development of the country is to secure efficient Hydro-meteorological services. This is the principal goal of this project.    The CREWS Haiti project leverages the outcomes of the  “Climate Services to Reduce Vulnerability in Haiti” project, which was funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) (2012-2019). The main achievements of this project included the construction of a zero-emission, hurricane and earthquake resistant building for the Unité Hydro Météorologique (UHM), the development and installation of a technical assistance package, providing UHM with the necessary technical equipment, and further training for weather forecasting, observation and aviation meteorology. 

Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA)

The adverse impacts of climate change are a major challenge to the socio-economic development of developing countries, particularly the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Land-locked Developing Countries (LLDCs). The 79 Members of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) are considered to be the most vulnerable countries to the existential threats of climate change. Yet Member States of the OACPS have contributed least to greenhouse gas emissions.The Intra-ACP Climate Services and related Applications Programme (ClimSA) is a EUR 85 M initiative of the OACPS and the European Union. It is an important investment under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) aiming to strengthen the climate services value chain: from access to information, generation and provision of climate services to engagement and capacity building of users to ensure utilization of these services.ClimSA aims to support the climate information services value chain with technical assistance, financial assistance, and infrastructure and capacity building support to improve wide access and use of climate information and applications for decision making processes at all levels, in the six regions of the OACPS through eight Regional Climate Centres (RCCs).As main users of climate services and the bridge to other final users, the African Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the African Union Commission (AUC), the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) will be the focus of the action to ensure sustainability and utilization of climate services. 

Climate Science Information for Climate Action (CSICA)

Since October 2018, and in response to the Paris Agreement (Article 7, paragraph 7 (c)) WMO and Green Climate Fund (GCF) have partnered to provide the global community with access to new climate information, tools, and guidance to facilitate the generation and use of climate information in support of climate action decisions, recognizing the contribution and value of science-based decision-making in responding to climate change.  Some of the products developed by WMO include a methodology for Developing the Climate Science Information for Climate Action (WMO-No. 1287), data, tools and associated technical resources for enhancing the climate science basis for GCF-funded projects and activities, as well as for National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and climate policies.  The aim of providing these products is to help all countries, in particular least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing states (SIDS) and developing countries to identify and select the most effective climate actions to address climate impacts. In doing so, the guidance can contribute to country-level decision-making and the mobilization of climate finance.The Climate Science Information for Climate Action (CSICA) initiative was officially launched in 2021 at the twenty-sixth Conference of Parties (COP 26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Glasgow, Scotland. Furthermore, the GCF Board at its thirty-third Session in July 2022 adopted Decision 19 (GCF B.33/19) recognizing the results of the WMO-GCF collaboration and acknowledged the importance of scaling up the support for strengthening the capacity of all stakeholders to access, synthesize, and incorporate relevant climate science information into climate action policies, plans and investments, as well as enhancing the hydrological and meteorological systems and associated climate information services for low-carbon and climate-resilient development.Noting significant demand from countries, and high-level political support for this work, WMO is implementing the CSICA initiative through the provision of institutional coordination support, technical advisory services, capacity development and increased partnerships. 

مكاتب المنظمة (WMO) في المنطقة

WMO Representative Office for North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NCAC)

Instituto Meteorológico Nacional

3er Piso, frente a Admisiones del Hospital Calderón Guardia, 

Avenida 9, Calle 17, Barrio Aranjuez, 

P.O Box 73350-1000

San José, Costa Rica 

Email: rmartinez@wmo.int