Registration is open for Using ECMWF’s Forecasts 2026 (UEF2026), ECMWF’s long‑running user forum that brings together forecast users from around the world to exchange ideas, share experiences and help shape the future of ECMWF products and services.
Taking place from 1 to 4 June 2026 in Reading and online, this year’s event will focus on extreme temperature forecasting, with particular emphasis on heatwaves and coldwaves.
Open to all ECMWF forecast users, UEF2026 provides a unique opportunity to engage directly with ECMWF staff, alongside peers from ECMWF Member and Co‑operating States and the wider international forecasting community.
Becky Hemingway, ECMWF Liaison and Outreach Team Leader said: “UEF is all about our users – understanding how ECMWF forecast products are applied in practice, what works well, and where we can improve. With this year’s focus on temperature extremes, we’re looking forward to bringing the global community together to exchange insights and help shape services that support real-world decision-making.”
A forum shaped by users
The UEF series is designed as a two‑way forum. As well as learning about ECMWF’s latest plans and updates, participants are encouraged to provide feedback on forecast performance, products and services, and to share practical experience of using ECMWF data.
Dedicated sessions throughout the week allow time for discussion, networking and informal exchange with ECMWF staff and fellow users, helping ensure that ECMWF’s forecast services continue to evolve in line with user needs.
Theme: extreme temperature forecasts
Temperature is a fundamental forecast variable, affecting people, infrastructure, ecosystems and economies worldwide. Extremes of heat and cold, in particular, can have severe and far‑reaching impacts. UEF2026 will explore how temperature and temperature extremes are forecast across timescales.
ECMWF provides a wide suite of temperature products, including familiar 2 metre temperature and 850 hPa charts, products that quantify uncertainty such as meteograms and those enable the calculation of probabilities for temperature thresholds being exceeded or falling below thresholds. Derived products like the Extreme Forecast Index (EFI) act as an 'alarm bell' for unusually hot or cold conditions worldwide in the medium-range to sub-seasonal ranges, while SEAS5 provides seasonal outlooks of temperature anomalies.
Advances in numerical weather prediction (NWP), Earth system coupling, and data assimilation have steadily improved temperature forecast skill. More recently, ECMWF’s machine learning models, AIFS Single and AIFS ENS, have shown strong performance for temperature forecasting, in many cases matching or exceeding traditional NWP approaches. UEF2026 will provide a forum to explore what these developments mean in practice.
Four thematic strands
This year’s forum is organised around the following four thematic areas:
- Temperature forecasting applications and products, showcasing operational use, evaluation and product development across timescales.
- Case studies, with a particular focus on heatwave and coldwave events, forecast evolution, predictability and uncertainty.
- Innovation in temperature prediction, including machine learning, hybrid approaches, high‑resolution simulations and emerging capabilities.
- From forecast to impact, examining how temperature information is communicated, interpreted and applied in real‑world decision‑making, including links to health, climate monitoring and longer‑term temperature variability and change.
Highlights from the programme
The draft programme combines ECMWF updates, user case studies and interactive sessions. Early presentations will cover forecast system developments, research plans, machine‑learning updates and recent model cycles, followed by sessions on medium‑range temperature skill and how temperature is forecast at ECMWF.
User contributions span a wide geographical range and include case studies such as the May 2025 Iceland heatwave; evaluation of extreme cold events in northern Sweden and Lesotho, South Africa; operational use of ECMWF temperature products for heat‑stress management in Lombardy, Italy; and comparisons of AI and NWP forecasts for sectors such as energy.
Later sessions focus on human‑centric forecasting, health‑related applications, sub‑seasonal and seasonal prediction, and live demonstrations of tools for exploring extreme event data.
Speakers include experts from ECMWF, national meteorological services, research institutions, and industry.
Register for UEF2026
Abstract submission is now closed, but registration to attend UEF2026 remains open.
Participation is free, with the option to attend either in person or online.
For further information, to view the draft programme and to register, visit the event web page.