Climate Services Dashboard informs climate action
In today's rapidly changing climate, staying informed and prepared is more crucial than ever. The need has therefore never been higher for climate services which leverage scientific knowledge to support mitigation, adaptation and resilience.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has launched the Climate Services Dashboard, an innovative tool designed to track climate service capacities globally. It enhances data-driven planning and resource allocation, ensuring climate services play a complementary role in national climate action plans.
This interactive platform supports decision-makers, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), and development partners by providing insights into climate policy, climate services capacities, and investment trends, helping them align resources and strategies accordingly.
It helps identify gaps and opportunities in key sectors like agriculture, health, energy, and disaster risk reduction. It is an indispensable tool to support sustainable development.
Key features
- Climate Policy Insights: Tracks how climate services are integrated into national climate policies (in Nationally Determined Contributions, NDCs).
- Climate Service Capacities: Evaluates the ability of WMO Members to deliver essential climate services to support climate action across sectors.
- Investment Trends: Monitors funding directed towards climate service projects.
- Country-Specific pages: Provide detailed information on national priorities, capacities, and funding trends.
In the past five years, there has been progress in provision of climate services for decision-making. But big gaps remain and investment lags far behind need, according to WMO’s 2024 State of Climate Services report.
Current Climate Service Capacities
In 2024, only 14% of WMO Members were equipped to provide advanced climate services.
Africa remains particularly vulnerable, with 15% of Members providing climate services at less than basic levels.
The majority of WMO Members provide climate services to agriculture and the water sector.
However, a significant number of WMO Members still do not provide tailored climate projections and sector-specific products, limiting the effectiveness of climate adaptation efforts.
The biggest portion of investments are being directed toward Asia and Africa, due to the regions' high vulnerability to climate impacts.
Examples of climate services
Climate services are the provision of climate data, information, and knowledge to assist decision-making. Climate services require appropriate engagement between the recipient of the service and its provider to co-produce services that can support specific decision-making processes, along with an effective access mechanism to enable inclusive communication and timely action.
Example applications include:
- Should I plan a vaccination programme in my region based on likely impact of forecast seasonal rainfall?
- Do I need to plant drought-resistant seeds next season based on the likely impact of forecast rainfall and temperature?
- How much wind and solar resources can we expect to get in various areas in the coming months, seasons, and years to establish and operate new renewable power plants?
- Will our children’s access to schools be affected by extreme rainfall or drought? Will we need to reschedule the school day and school year to account for heatwaves?
- Is our city’s infrastructure resilient to projected changes in extreme rainfall under a changing climate?
- How might sea level rise impact coastal communities and infrastructure in the coming decades and what investments are needed to adapt?
Case Study Mozambique
The WMO Climate Services Dashboard provides a baseline assessment for NMHS to deliver climate services and information that support adaptation and mitigation across key sectors. The dashboard identifies capacity gaps and ensures critical climate services are effectively integrated into NDC 3.0.
Mozambique exemplifies how baseline assessments inform national planning. Through the dashboard’s National Page, the country can evaluate its climate services landscape, identify ongoing projects and funding sources, and pinpoint weaknesses such as limited observation networks or a lack of tailored climate products for key sectors.
Understanding these gaps allows decision-makers to prioritize improvements in NDC 3.0, ensuring climate services effectively support adaptation and mitigation while strengthening their integration into national climate strategies.
