ECMWF: a collective endeavour to serve our communities

ECMWF is both a research institute and a 24/7 operational service centre, producing global numerical weather predictions and other data for European Members and Co-operating States as well as the broader meteorological and environmental community. ECMWF develops and operates a global Earth-System model and cutting-edge data assimilation system. Its ensemble forecasts extend from the medium range to the seasonal scales. ECMWF also operates two of the European Union’s Copernicus Earth observation programme services, the Atmosphere Monitoring (CAMS) and the Climate Change (C3S) Services, and contributes to the Copernicus Emergency Management Service (CEMS) as computational centre for the European Flood Awareness System (EFAS) and the Forest fire and wildfire information system (FIRE). Finally, ECMWF partners with ESA and EUMETSAT to deliver the European Union’s Destination Earth project, creating digital twins of the Earth.

The science required to make ECMWF’s vision of accurate weather forecasting, reliable data on climate change and usable information about the quality of the air we breathe, the risk of flooding or of forest fires relies on the best science in the world, a science which is developed by our scientists working in close partnership with scientists in all our member states. This collaboration takes place primarily within the national meteorological services, and through academic partnerships which we are developing around the world.

Another key aspect of our scientific developments is that they do not happen in silos, they rely on computing science and computing technology. This has always been the case at ECMWF, but the past decade has seen an increased role within ECMWF for computing science and more importantly for a closer relationship between environmental and computing sciences which now work hand in hand. Our experts work with the industry to customise the machines so that they best suit our purposes. For example, a partnership has been established by the creation of a Centre of Excellence between the ECMWF and the company Atos and partners, with joint projects on optimizing the NWP code, using graphics processing units (GPU) and AI.

The interaction between ECMWF and its Member States is of prime importance. An example of linking with a community of meteorological services is the fact that ECMWF is supporting and co-developing the South‐East European Multi‐Hazard Early Warning Advisory System (SEE‐MHEWS‐A) project initiated by WMO in 2016 to strengthen the existing early warning capacities in South-East Europe. In the pilot phase of the project, ECMWF contributions to the operational work of several Members and Co‐operating States was instrumental, and it continues to be so in the operationalization phase.

Through these various partnerships and collaborations, ECMWF is able to make the most of the expertise available in different communities for the benefit of all.