A new generation of high-resolution (1km) forecast models promises to revolutionise the predictions of hazardous weather such as wind-storms, flash floods, and poor air quality.
To realize this promise, a dense observing network, focusing on the lower few km of the atmosphere, is required to verify these new forecast models, with the ultimate goal of assimilating the data.
At present there are insufficient systematic observations of, for example, the vertical profiles of water vapour, temperature, wind and aerosols. A major constraint is the absence of funding to install new networks.

This session is intended to give a forum to discuss recent developments and achievements in providing inexpensive reliable unmanned instrument networks, that can provide calibrated and quality controlled data in near real-time to national weather forecast centres so the data can be assimilated into the forecast models. One example of such developments is the current COST action ES1303 ‘TOPROF’ (http://www.toprof.eu) which, in collaboration with the EUMETNET ‘E-PROFILE’ project (http://www.eumetnet.eu/e-profile) is implementing the provision of real-time data from European networks of a) automatic lidars and ceilometers, b) Doppler lidars, and c) microwave radiometers.