From Strategy to Action: Strengthening Global Hydrological Research within WMO

The WMO Research Board Task Team on Hydrology Research (TT-HydroResearch) operated from September 2023 to December 2025 with the objective of strengthening coordination, coherence, and strategic direction of hydrological research within the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The Task Team supported integration across WMO research programmes, including the World Weather Research Programme and the World Climate Research Programme, while fostering strong links with external scientific and operational communities such as UNESCO-IHP, IAHS, HEPEX, EGU, and AGU. A central mandate of TT-HydroResearch was the review and update of the WMO Hydrology Research Strategy 2022-2030 (known now as WMO Operational Hydrology Research Strategy 2030) and the Plan of Action for Hydrology, ensuring alignment with emerging scientific challenges, operational priorities, and societal needs.

This contribution presents the rationale, objectives, and key outcomes of the Task Team’s work, with a particular focus on advancing research-to-operations (R2O) and operations-to-research (O2R) pathways in global hydrological monitoring, process understanding, and prediction. By identifying priority research gaps, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration, and strengthening the interface between science and services, TT-HydroResearch contributes to enhanced predictive capabilities and more effective hydrological services under conditions of climate change, increasing extremes, and growing water-related risks.