In focus

Satellite orbiting above Earth with cloud-covered weather systems visible below against the backdrop of space.

Behind every forecast: millions of observations we trust

From satellites and aircraft to ships and buoys, millions of observations underpin every forecast. Find out how ECMWF monitors data, detects anomalies and works with international partners to ensure quality data reach forecasting systems.
Abstract blue digital data cubes floating around a glowing central cube against a grid-like background, representing data storage, processing, or interconnected digital information.

Making sense of more: a new way to access weather and climate data

Polytope helps users extract only the weather and climate data they need from massive datasets, reducing transfers by up to 95% and making petabyte-scale information faster and easier to use.
Rows of high-performance computing servers in ECMWF's data centre in Bologna, Italy, with illuminated server racks, overhead cabling and a reflective floor, supporting large-scale weather and climate modelling.

Why ECMWF needs both supercomputing and cloud services

ECMWF's supercomputers and cloud services play different but complementary roles, helping deliver reliable forecasts, accelerate AI innovation and support collaboration across Europe.
ESA Arctic Weather Satellite

From space to forecast: how ECMWF turns satellite data into trusted weather predictions

Satellite observations underpin modern weather, environmental and climate services. Discover how ECMWF uses satellite observations and how AI could unlock even greater value from them.
View of Earth from space, showing the planet’s curved horizon, scattered cloud cover over the ocean, and the Sun shining against a deep blue atmosphere.

Ozone pollution: the hidden health cost of heatwaves

As heatwaves intensify, ground-level ozone threatens human health and ecosystems. CAMS forecasts provide early warnings to help communities and policymakers respond to poor air quality.
Stylised digital globe overlaid with computer code and data streams, representing artificial intelligence, data processing, and global computing technologies.

Putting users first: the common language behind ECMWF’s data

For more than four decades, ECMWF has used the MARS language to describe weather and climate data in scientifically meaningful terms.
Illustration of data quality monitoring, showing trends and performance metrics overlaid on digital data streams.

Data you can trust: how ECMWF builds quality into every forecast

Every day, ECMWF delivers vast amounts of weather and climate data that inform decisions worldwide. But in a system that never pauses, how do we ensure that data remain reliable, consistent and trusted at every stage?
Photo of small waves in the ocean

From wind to waves: how ECMWF forecasts ocean waves

On World Oceans Day, explore how ECMWF forecasts ocean waves by capturing the changing interactions between winds, ocean currents and sea ice.
Visualisation of Europe at night with glowing data hubs and streaming lines representing data flows across the globe.

More than data: services enabling Europe’s growing user community

ECMWF’s growing data ecosystem helps hundreds of thousands of users worldwide access, understand and apply complex Earth system information at scale.
Abstract digital corridor filled with blue, glass-like structures displaying streams of binary code (0s and 1s).

Driving innovation in data provision – the Data Stores Service

ECMWF’s Data Stores Service provides a unified gateway to weather, climate and environmental data, enabling fast, scalable and cloud-based access for research, analysis and operational applications worldwide.
Stylised digital globe composed of data points and binary code, with colourful light trails representing fast-flowing global data.

Data without friction – ECMWF’s multi-faceted approach to improving data usability

ECMWF makes vast Earth system data findable and usable by applying FAIR principles, standards, and tools, enabling seamless discovery, access, and integration for diverse users.
Digital illustration of Earth showing Europe at night, overlaid with glowing network connections across the continent.

Data sovereignty in practice: ECMWF infrastructure for European services

ECMWF operates a Europe-based sovereign computing and data ecosystem that delivers global-scale weather and climate intelligence through open platforms, high-performance computing, and secure, distributed infrastructure.
Abstract image of a smartphone displaying a “Flash Flood Warning” alert, overlaid with a clock and flowing data lines against stormy clouds.

Minutes matter: how ECMWF delivers time-critical data at global scale

ECMWF delivers vast volumes of critical weather and climate data in near real time, enabling timely warnings, decisions and responses worldwide.
Abstract digital data streams represented as glowing tubes filled with binary code.

Data friction and the user experience: a framework for improvement

ECMWF’s shift to open data highlights how reducing ‘data friction’ – from licensing to formats – unlocks greater value, expands access, and supports sustainable, scalable use of high‑quality weather information.
Photo of ECMWF's HPC illuminated green. The image is slightly swirled

The living archive: inside ECMWF’s exabyte-scale meteorological data repository

From gigabytes to exabytes, MARS has evolved into a living archive powering forecasting, research and European programmes, delivering vast volumes of meteorological data to a global user community.
Abstract graphic showing interconnected neural‑network diagrams, binary code, and geometric mesh patterns, representing AI, data flows, and complex computational networks.

Powering the AI weather revolution: from ERA5 to AI-ready pipelines

AI is transforming weather and climate prediction and Europe is leading the way with high-quality datasets, shared infrastructure, and operational frameworks.
Digital map of Europe made from glowing blue binary code with streaks of light across a dark background

ECMWF's data infrastructure and services: ready for the era of Common European Data Spaces

Umberto Modigliani, Emma Pidduck and Stephan Siemen explain how ECMWF’s modern data infrastructure, open services and cloud‑based systems position the Centre to support and lead Europe’s emerging Common European Data Spaces.
ECMWF NINO3.4 plot from 1 November 2022

Fact sheet: Sub-seasonal and seasonal predictions

ECMWF issues sub-seasonal weather predictions up to 46 days ahead. They are ensemble forecasts, and they show predicted week-to-week changes in the weather. Seasonal predictions are ensemble forecasts, too, and they are mainly issued up to seven months ahead.
From artificial intelligence (AI) to Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI)

Unlocking the black box: the potential of explainable AI in geoscience

The lack of transparency in many AI models in geoscience poses a barrier to their adoption. Revealing the factors that influence their actions, referred to as ‘Explainable Artificial Intelligence’ (XAI), demystifies how they work.