Public Weather Services (PWS)

Expert Group on Public Education and Outreach

Purpose of the Expert Group

The Expert Group on Public Education and Outreach was established to provide WMO with recommendations and guidance for assisting NMHSs to educate the public and decision-making authorities so as to:

• increase public understanding of the usefulness and limitations of weather forecasts;
• increase public trust in forecasts, and
• increase public understanding of the risks of a particular hazard or series of hazards.

WMO uses the guidance and recommendations to develop public education and outreach materials for use by NMHSs with the aim of transferring this knowledge to the public. Through the expert group, a publication has already been produced. It is titled: Public Weather Services Strategy for Developing Public Education and Outreach (WMO/TD No. 1354_PWS-14).

Terms of Reference (ToRs)

1. The Expert Group is constituted under the Applications of Meteorology Programme through PWSP working in close collaboration with the Education and Training Programme and the relevant Technical Departments in the WMO Secretariat.
2. Members of the Expert Group are expected to collect education and public outreach materials from NMHSs as well as educational and other institutions.
3. Based on the materials, the Expert Group will continously prepare, for distribution by WMO, a set of generic educational materials to address a) the general public and b) decision-making authorities, suitable for adaptation to different languages and cultures.
4. The experts, through NMHSs, are expected to work with educators to transfer this knowledge to the public at all levels and decision-making authorities.
5. Members of the Expert Group will interact with the WMO Secretariat, to ensure
   consistent implementation of the guidance material developed by the Expert Group.

Composition of the Expert Team

The Expert Group is composed of experts from the NMHSs, education community,
user community and the WMO Secretariat. They are: