Open Data at ECMWF

As the world focuses its efforts on understanding and mitigating the impacts of climate change, historical and predictive weather and climate data have become critical inputs by a broad user base, ranging from policy and decision-makers, local and national governments, private sector entities, as well as the public. The potential consequences of not making full use of this data can have a devastating effect in terms of loss of and disruption to life, but also financially. In 2021, it is estimated that natural disasters led to damages and losses of US$343 billion, of which European flooding events contributed US$13bn alone. Of these, the ten most costly events caused 9,500 deaths.

ECMWF products and weather data in general contribute to a broad range of activities by service providers, and their use enables and enhances the protection of life and property by National Weather Services and humanitarian agencies. The broad reach, use and significance of the information require that data and derived outputs are communicated effectively, promptly, and without restriction wherever possible.

Open data has been recognised as one of the main tools to maximise the socio-economic benefits of investments in weather and climate data production and forms a key part of the ECMWF Strategy between now and 2030. To realise the full potential of open policies, data need to be easily accessible and with the appropriate supporting information to allow users to derive information and form valuable conclusions.

This presentation highlights the ECMWF roadmap for the transition to open data, including a summary of recent changes to data policy and data access methods, as well as the proposed changes in the coming years, such as new open datasets and reductions in the cost of data. The challenges associated with the transition are also presented.