WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS)
Note: WMO Congress adopted WIPPS as a new name of GDPFS at 19th Session (June 2023)
The last decades have witnessed tremendous advancements in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP), thanks to better assimilated, improved observations, increased computing capacity and advances in our knowledge of dynamics and physics. These advancements have led to increasingly skilful weather forecasting and will continue to be important in the future. Consequently, the emphasis in operational meteorology, hydrology, oceanography and climatology has shifted towards the implementation of increasingly sophisticated and diverse numerical models and applications in order to serve an ever-increasing variety of users. Operational NWP systems generally provide an accurate indication of developing weather events from hours to days ahead. They are, therefore, one of the most relevant components of routine and severe weather forecasting and warnings at National Meteorological and Hydrological Services.
However, the weather forecasting capability among these National Services in varies enormously. While, the more advanced Members are leveraging the advancements in NWP, but those in the developing and least developed Members have seen limited progress due to budget constraints and reduced capabilities and leading to a widening gap. The WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS), encompasses all systems operated by Members, including those jointly coordinated with other international organizations such as ICAO. WIPPS facilitates the utilisation of advancements in NWP by providing a framework for sharing data related to operational meteorology, hydrology, oceanography and climatology. The main support for the exchange and delivery of these data is the WMO Information System (WIS). One of the key benefits of the WMO Information System is the expansion of the range of centres that can connect to the system, thereby increasing the range of applications within the global data-processing and forecasting system.