The launch of the Metop-C satellite, scheduled for 7 November 2018, will ensure the continuous supply of crucial data to help initialise numerical weather prediction models for years to come. Having three Metop satellites in orbit will open the door to innovative uses of the data.
ECMWF is now accepting applications for its 2019 training courses. The programme includes courses on ECMWF forecast products, software packages and applications and on numerical weather prediction (NWP).
Nineteen speakers presented progress and challenges in Earth system data assimilation at ECMWF’s Annual Seminar from 10 to 13 September 2018. More than a hundred participants attended this flagship event in ECMWF’s calendar.
The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service implemented by ECMWF has released a new global reanalysis of atmospheric composition for the period 2003–2016.
ECMWF’s Annual Seminar on ‘Earth system assimilation’ opened on 10 September. One of the speakers at the four-day event, ECMWF scientist Dinand Schepers, trained as an aerospace engineer before moving into Earth observations and their assimilation into Earth system models.
A group of scientists writing in Nature, including ECMWF's Vincent-Henri Peuch, have called for international action to improve air-quality forecasts worldwide to help reduce the death toll from air pollution. In a comment paper, they propose improvements in the areas of monitoring, modelling, interpretation, dissemination and training.
ECMWF supports the national meteorological services of its Member and Co-operating States and other users by providing them with state-of-the-art global weather predictions. A product launched in June enables users to visualise atmospheric conditions from the ground up to the lower stratosphere anywhere in the world.
The Aeolus satellite was launched successfully by the European Space Agency from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on 22 August 2018. The mission is expected to improve weather forecasts by providing vital information on winds across the globe.
The first seven months of 2018 at ECMWF have seen a major upgrade of the Integrated Forecasting System; a series of events to drive forward numerical weather prediction; the launch of the Climate Data Store; and the appointment of a new Director of Computing.
ECMWF has substantially increased the amount of weather prediction data it makes available free of charge to Members of the World Meteorological Organization. The provision of the data is part of the Centre’s obligations as a World Meteorological Centre.
The summer 2018 issue of the ECMWF Newsletter is now available. As well as news about ECMWF staff and events, it features articles about new developments and the use that can be made of ECMWF products.
Finding better ways to couple small-scale physical processes and large-scale atmospheric dynamics in Earth system models could help to improve global weather forecasts, according to experts meeting at ECMWF from 10 to 12 July.
Registration for ECMWF’s 2018 Annual Seminar on Earth system assimilation closes on Friday, 27 July. Attendance is free for participants from ECMWF’s Member and Co-operating States.
Participants in this year’s ECMWF user meeting from 5 to 8 June 2018 tested the use of virtual reality to visualise weather data. They also heard about ECMWF product updates and showed software or services developed in ECMWF’s Member and Co-operating States.
Dr Martin Palkovič has been appointed to become ECMWF’s next Director of Computing from 1 October 2018. He succeeds Prof. Adrian Wander, who will step down after a transition period to ensure a seamless handover.
Thirty years ago ECMWF started a major project to rewrite the computer code of its forecasting system. One of the key players in the project, Mats Hamrud, says the system he and his colleagues went on to develop has stood the test of time but needs to keep evolving to meet new challenges.
Accurate and timely weather data from across the globe are crucial for numerical weather prediction. In a welcome development, Ukraine has recently begun to provide additional weather station observations to ECMWF in real time.
Europe’s Climate Data Store (CDS), launched today, is a one-stop-shop for past, present and future climate information. The CDS greatly improves access to climate data and tools, is open and free for all to use, and will change the ways in which society can benefit from Earth observations and climate science.
Since 5 June 2018, rapid interactions between the ocean, sea ice and the atmosphere have been included in ECMWF’s highest-resolution weather forecasts. ECMWF scientist Kristian Mogensen has helped to make this latest move towards seamless Earth system modelling.