The session invites contributions from those working on initiatives aiming to enable countries from the developing world to improve their weather and climate service capability, such as
• the enhancement and coordination of technical and organizational infrastructure,
• the development of new weather and climate services products,
• the implementation and optimization of procedures and methods, capacity building for technical and general management,
• the enhancement of education and training, the strengthening of service mindedness,
• the development of scientific capability in meteorological and climatological topics, and the related knowledge gain,
• the facilitation and fostering of international collaboration, and
• the coordination of relevant donors and funding opportunities.
Particularly welcome are presentations on lessons learnt on in development projects, including examples of good practice and success stories, alongside reports on difficulties and challenges encountered, as well as meta-initiatives aiming at facilitating communication and collaboration. Pure methodological discussions, however, are left to other topical sessions in the OSA program stream.
Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) has been implementing the FINKERAT cooperation and development project funded by the ministry of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland with the Kenya Meteorological Service Authority (KMSA), the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA), The Rwanda Meteorology Agency (Meteo Rwanda), and the Tanzanian Meteorological Authority (TMA) since early 2022. The project aims at modernizing and automating the value chain of early warning and weather services in the three countries, as well as support REMA enhancing air quality services in Rwanda.
East Africa is increasingly affected by severe hazardous weather events. At the same time, the production of weather services still relies heavily on manual processes, and the resulting information is often poorly accessible and insufficiently actionable for the most vulnerable segments of the population. Thus, several donors and entities support the region by directing funds and collaboration activities on early warning and weather service development and dissemination (including last mile). These include among the other the programmes coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (e.g. CREWS – Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Initiative, SOFF – Systematic Observations Financing Facility), as well as bilateral projects funded by single countries.
The FINKERAT project has established partnerships and synergies with these initiatives to align activities and maximize impact. This kind of collaboration has helped beneficiary organizations to recognize that systems and tools can be integrated into a single service-delivery value chain, reducing the risks for duplicative systems. Also, such coordination supports better planning and enables the tailoring of capacity development activities while reducing costs and engaging wider audience.
During the European Meteorological Society’s annual meeting, examples of lessons learned will be discussed, for example, ensuring that deliverables lead to operational products and services rather than pilots that typically end with the project.
How to cite: Hirsikko, A. and Chiariello, A.: Coordination of international development collaboration enhances impact, EMS Annual Meeting 2026, Utrecht, Netherlands, 6–11 Sep 2026, EMS2026-384, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2026-384, 2026.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) together with the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Center (UHMC) and Hydrometeorological Center Black and Azov Seas (HMC BAS) concluded a four-year long hydrometeorological development collaboration project, called UFIM, at the end of year 2025. The project was funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The UFIM project aimed at digitalizing UHMC’s weather and marine service capabilities as well as strengthening professional competence. A strong regional and international collaboration component was included, involving several European partner organizations to mutual hydrometeorological information sharing.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 fundamentally changed the project’s implementation conditions. Despite the prevailing situation, the project achieved outcomes beyond original expectations. In the Annual meeting of the European Meteorological Society, the lessons learned on the enablers of successful project implementation will be introduced.
Among the others, the key enablers included UHMC’s strong ownership, including commitment to institutional change, and a willingness of staff to adopt and apply new skills. Open communication between project partners supported agile responses and timely adjustments throughout the implementation period of project.
The development strategy of Ukrainian government for hydrometeorological services set a clear pathway to modernize UHMC and HMC BAC, and further, support the digitalization of their operations. The organizations were able to respond effectively through the implementation of UFIM project together with FMI. The commitment and support of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, the host organization of UHMC, helped amplifying the outcomes of Finnish Ukrainian collaboration in the field of hydrometeorology. The coordination and collaboration with European partners further supported strengthening the project's achievements.
How to cite: Hirsikko, A. and Bilozerova, A.: How do strong partnerships and ownership amplify development collaboration outcomes?, EMS Annual Meeting 2026, Utrecht, Netherlands, 6–11 Sep 2026, EMS2026-470, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2026-470, 2026.
Developing and emerging countries face increasing vulnerability to weather and climate hazards, but lack the institutional and technical capacity to deliver tailored, actionable climate services. Addressing this gap requires sustained capacity development across both technical and operational domains.
This contribution presents the umbrella project SAREPTA of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. Funded by NORAD and spanning partnerships in multiple countries in Africa and South-east Asia, SAREPTA aims at strengthening capabilities of meteorological institutes in weather forecasting, verification, forecast communication, user engagement, marine services, climate services, and data management.
This presentation draws on ongoing projects in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Malawi, Ethiopia, Mozambique, and Tanzania. The project period varies across countries, with some collaborations spanning more than a decade and others having been initiated more recently. We highlight key experiences and lessons learned from implementation across the different countries.
SAREPTA capacity building projects are structured around a set of overarching principles. For example, a key principle is the use of open and free software. Activities include the implementation of open-source tools for visualization of forecast products and verification, climate analysis and empirical-statistical downscaling, and the integration of relevant data into unified systems. End-to-end dissemination through digital technology such as mobile weather applications, and the exploration of AI-based methods in weather forecasting are also part of the work. Similarly, in the context of weather, climate and marine services, the project includes the full value cycle, from the use and analysis of local observations to downscaled climate scenarios.
Both MET Norway and partner institutes in each country have nominated dedicated expert teams. Activities include regular in-person workshops, taking place both in partner countries and in Norway, complemented by digital follow-up meetings to maintain progress. Cross-cutting coordination of MET Norway teams ensures a holistic approach across thematic areas and regions. Additionally, we strive to collaborate with other partners working in these countries to maximize impact and leverage existing and local networks. Overall, in this presentation we highlight that sustainable capacity is built through close, long-term collaboration with partner institutions, with topic-experts working side-by-side to ensure relevance and long-term impact within each focus area.
How to cite: Demissie, T., Ødemark, K., Benestad, R., Jeuring, J., van Bijsterveldt, L., Hygen, H. O., Wettre, C., Østvand, L., Hole, L. R., and Vigna, I.: SAREPTA - Capacity building projects at MET Norway, EMS Annual Meeting 2026, Utrecht, Netherlands, 6–11 Sep 2026, EMS2026-439, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2026-439, 2026.
This contribution presents the co-design, development, and pilot implementation of the Uliza-WI chatbot, a digital agro-weather information service developed by Weather Impact to strengthen climate resilience among smallholder farmers. Implemented in Kenya, Ghana, and Zimbabwe within the EU-Horizon SAFE4ALL project, Uliza-WI delivers localized agro-weather advisories and early warning information through an interactive, two-way communication platform that enables on-demand information tailored to the users' input. It provides daily weather forecast, rain season onset status, seasonal forecast, and crop-specific advices, based on the farmers' location, as well as general good agricultural practice guidelines.
A key strength of this initiative lies in its strong ground presence and close collaboration with farmers and local partners. The chatbot is co-designed with farmers through continuous engagement, ensuring that their needs, preferences, and constraints are directly reflected in the service. Lessons learned highlight the importance of an accessible and gender-sensitive design, including delivering information in local languages and in pictorial and voice-based form to address low literacy barriers, and the strategic transition from Telegram to WhatsApp to increase user uptake and engagement.
Collaboration with national meteorological and hydrological services (NMHS) has been instrumental to ensure the meteorological quality, relevance, and institutional alignment of the forecasts and advisories. These partnerships also are crucial for the future sustainability and joint operation of the service, contributing to strengthening national weather information services and early warning systems.
This contribution will reflect on successes and challenges in co-development, including scalability and user engagement, while defining viable sustainability models. It will provide practical insights into effective service design, emphasizing the value of local co-development, user-centered focus, and strong institutional collaboration, to deliver impactful climate services.
How to cite: Ligtenberg, S., Estebanez Camarena, M., and Occelli, L.: Uliza-WI chatbot: tailored agro-weather advisory information and alerting for African smallholder farmers., EMS Annual Meeting 2026, Utrecht, Netherlands, 6–11 Sep 2026, EMS2026-283, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2026-283, 2026.
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