Public Weather Services (PWS)

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Implementation Coordination Team on Public Weather Services (ICT/PWS)

The ICT is responsible for the overall coordination of the work of the PWS Expert Teams and oversees the implementation of tasks included their Terms of Reference (TORs) and Deliverables.   The TORs of the ICT, as approved by the Sixteenth Session of the Commission for Basic Systems (CBS-16), which was held in Guangzhou, China, 23-29 November 2016, are as indicated below:

Terms of Reference (TORs)

(a)             Coordinate the implementation of the decisions of Congress, the Executive Council and the Commission for Basic Systems (CBS) with respect to Public Weather Services;

(b)             Consult and collaborate to ensure coordination of the work of the Open Programme Area Group (OPAG) on PWSD with that of other CBS OPAGs, technical commissions (TCs), EC working groups, regional associations (RAs) and WMO Programmes and initiatives;

(c)             Support a strengthening of partnerships between National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), other agencies and user sectors (e.g., media, health, emergency management) in areas relevant to PWSD;

(d)             Through the constituent teams of the OPAG, promote the implementation of the WMO Strategy for Service Delivery in the context of Public Weather Services, and making full use of emerging technologies;

(e)             Keep under review the work of the PWSD Expert Teams and coordinate and guide their work programmes;

(f)              Continue to encourage and provide guidance to Members to assert the authority of NMHSs as the sole providers of official high-impact weather warnings;

(g)             Facilitate the development of guidance and training material to underpin and support those elements of the WMO competency framework relevant to PWS-related activities;

(h)             Support and promote excellence in communication as a key enabler of quality service delivery;

(i)              Collaborate with development partners and other WMO entities to assist NMHSs in the identification and assessment of societal, economic and environmental benefits of hydrometeorological services;

(j)              Continue to promote the awareness and use of guidance documents developed through the work of the OPAG, in collaboration with regional associations, and by other means;

(k)             Guide the work of the OPAG to assist Members in developing their capacity to deliver improved services through the use of the best science and emerging technologies.