Guidance on Modernizing NMHSs
• The execution of NMHSs’ modernization programs require working with many partners, which may provide cost sharing and improve the understanding of user needs. • The modernization and associated restructuring of the NWS show that candid yet nonadversarial advice from outside experts and other interested parties is useful in designing and developing a large complex system. These lessons apply to many other countries equally, particularly those that have allowed their NMSs to decline to the point of obsolescence. Following modernization and to prevent reversion to the same cycle of modernization and obsolescence, the NWS subsequently created a program that focused on continuously infusing new technologies. Working within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the NWS is now developing new capabilities within government laboratories or through external R&D sources in response to ongoing requirements for product and service improvement. The NWS also created the post of science operations officer, who serves to rapidly integrate scientific advancements into Weather Forecast Office operations. At the U.K. Met Office, technical innovation and a continuous infusion of new capabilities have been a hallmark of the office’s success, thanks to a very strong internal R&D program focused on solving operational problems, as well as access to high-quality, university-based research. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), Météo France, the Meteorological Service of Canada, and many other leading NMSs remain at the forefront of technical innovation because of this approach. This approach also provides the means for developing and testing operation prototypes with users and stakeholders to refine system design.
Modernizing NMHSs in Developing Countries In middle-income countries, there are a few cases of successful modernization program, some of which were undertaken jointly with the World Bank by countries such as Poland, the Russian Federation, and Turkey. The modernization of the CMA is an example of a particularly successful program. It was driven by strong economic arguments on the value and economic benefits of NMSs, which helped build a consensus for support that resulted in massive state funding complemented by funding from municipal governments and fee-based sources (see chapter 5). Since 2000, the CMA budget has been growing faster—at a rate of about 15 percent—than China’s gross domestic product. A few other countries (such as Indonesia, Morocco, and Tunisia) have achieved better hydrometeorological service delivery by relying on national and international resources and expertise. Many Members of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)—such as China, Finland, France, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and donor agencies actively participate in modernizing NMHSs in developing countries. Some of these efforts, such as those in the Caribbean, seem to be operational mostly because of long-term and Weather and Climate Resilience • http://dx.doi.org/10.1596/978-1-4648-0026-9
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