RA VI Management Group Seventh Meeting – Key Highlights
The RA VI Management Group's 7th meeting was held on 13 May 2024 online to discuss several internal and external matters related to the Regional Association VI (RA VI) of the WMO, which encompasses 51 Member states. Chaired by Dr. Elena Mateescu, RA VI president, the meeting covered key topics such as:
- RA VI Working Mechanism: Review and Optimization,
- Regional Reform and Programme,
- European State of the Climate Report,
- RA VI WIGOS Centres: Status and Affiliation,
- INFCOM and SERCOM: Review and Outputs,
- TCC and PAC Analysis of Outputs, and
- EC-78 Preparations.
A primary focus of the discussions was optimizing the RA VI structure to improve efficiency and enhance cooperation. As part of this optimization, several teams and working groups were discontinued due to redundancy, including the Regional Concept Team, Aircraft-based Observations Team, and WMO Information System Team. In contrast, teams such as the Coordination Team on Forecasting (including flood forecasting) were created to avoid work in silos of the existing forecasting teams in RA VI under different mechanisms such as RA VI, MEDCOF, ECMWF, and CIS ICH. Learn more here: RA VI Management Group Enhances Coordination with Strategic Optimizations | World Meteorological Organization
Dr. Mateescu emphasized the need for enhanced data policies, improved weather, water, and climate services, and the integration of AI in operations. Collaboration with advanced infrastructures, such as EUMETSAT and ECMWF, was highlighted as critical for supporting countries with less developed infrastructure.
The European State of the Climate Report, developed in collaboration with Copernicus, was praised for its thorough climate analysis. However, MG members stressed the importance of increasing WMO’s visibility in future reports and providing clearer domain focus, such as impacts on agriculture or urban areas.
Progress on the Regional WIGOS Centres was also discussed, with pilot-mode activities scheduled to begin in June 2024.
Additionally, details were shared about the upcoming RA VI-19 session in October 2024, where discussions will focus on aligning technical work and setting regional priorities.
Draft work plans were presented by Dr. Mateescu, who had recently attended the SERCOM MG meeting to address satellite data gaps for Early Warnings for All (EW4All) and hydrological services. SERCOM’s objectives include strengthening early warning systems and providing decision-supporting climate services.
Further discussions took place around the proposed Roadmap for EW4All, as discussed at the Technical Coordination Committee meeting in April 2024. The focus will be on operationalizing early warning systems in countries that currently lack them. Members emphasized the need for increased collaboration and support from developed National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to assist less developed countries within RA VI.
In conclusion, this meeting marked an important step in aligning regional priorities, enhancing infrastructure, and ensuring effective collaboration across the RA VI region. As part of the next steps, the group agreed to meet in person, back-to-back with the EC-78 session, and continue efforts to implement the EW4All initiative, focusing on filling observational gaps, improving early warning systems, and strengthening coordination at both national and regional levels.