WMO Secretary-General's Statement on the occasion of World Meteorological Day 2025

Dear Members, Colleagues, Friends

Happy World Meteorological Day. Happy 75th Anniversary of the World Meteorological Organization as the UN’s authoritative voice on weather, climate and water.

Today – and indeed for the whole of this year – we celebrate the contribution of WMO and its Members to saving lives, serving society and protecting our planet.

The staff of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services are like doctors and nurses – working 24/7 to safeguard and promote public well-being. I would like to thank each and every one of you.

We are more than just weather forecasters.

Scientific data, information and services provided by the WMO community underpin decisions ranging from daily leisure activities to seasonal crop planting to long-term infrastructure investments.

During the past 75 years, we have brought billions of dollars in added value to the global economy. We have saved billions more in averted economic losses from weather, climate and water-related hazards. And we have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

WMO makes the world safer, more secure, and prosperous. Free and unrestricted exchange of weather-related data, products, and services are critical to national security and to climate sensitive sectors. For example - agriculture, aviation, shipping, energy, water management and health.

WMO acts as the backbone and central nervous system of global weather forecasting.

Every minute of every day, data flows from monitoring stations across the world to weather prediction centers. Millions of individual measurements – from satellites, from stations on the ground, from weather balloons, from ocean buoys and ships, from satellites, from aircraft – and more.

Without WMO coordination and its unified network, each country would face the impossible task of collecting global data on its own.

In these unsettled and challenging times, international collaboration is more important than ever before.

The world just witnessed the hottest 10 years on record. 2024 is likely to be the first calendar year to temporarily hit 1.5°C above the pre-industrial era.

Unfortunately, it will not be the last.

This is more than just a statistic.

Every fraction of a degree matters to our lives and our livelihoods.

Extreme weather and climate impacts are becoming more intense. We are seeing more frequent and intense heatwaves, more devastating storms and floods, more rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones.

Between 1970 and 2021, global reported economic losses from weather, climate and water hazards were a staggering US$ 4.3 trillion. More than 2 million people died.

Economic costs continue to soar, but the death toll is falling. Quite simply, we are better at saving lives than ever before.

Our top overriding priority is to ensure that early warning systems protect everyone, everywhere.

The theme of this year’s World Meteorological Day is therefore “Closing the Early Warnings Gap Together”.

At the halfway point of Early Warnings for All, we are proud to report progress. As of 2024, 108 countries report having some capacity for multi-hazard early warning systems. This is more than double the 52 countries in 2015.

But we need to go further, and we need to go faster.

We must:

• Innovate together to scale up technologies.
• Stand together to foster collaboration in countries.
• Invest together to create, mobilize, and share resources.

Early Warnings for All is now more than an initiative. It is a brand.

It is an ambitious target. But we are determined to succeed.

We are now expanding support to additional countries beyond the initial 30 focus countries.

We are strengthening partnerships with bilateral and multilateral donors, development banks, and climate funds to boost resources and collaboration.

We are enhancing regional capacity to ensure lasting impact.

We are promoting ownership by placing countries in the driving seat.

We are committed to boosting the power of prediction.

Technological advances and Artificial Intelligence promise to revolutionize weather forecasting.

But we must level the playing field and ensure that nobody is left behind. We must close the gaps in data and observations.

The time is now. By acting now, investing, and innovating together, we can fulfill the promise of Early Warnings for All.

It is a human and moral imperative. And it makes economic sense. On a global scale, every US$ 1 invested in early warnings is estimated to result in US$ 9 in net economic benefits. In some regions it’s even higher.

I therefore call upon governments worldwide to strengthen investments in National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. This is key to national and international socio-economic development.

To conclude.

For the past 75 years, WMO has turned science into action for the global good.

On this World Meteorological Day, let us reaffirm our commitment to a safer, more sustainable world. We owe it to our children.

I thank you.