Newsletter Issue 1/2025 (June 2025)
Newsletter Issue 1/2025 (June 2025)
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- Foreword by the Co-Vice-Chair of the WMO Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI)
- A step closer to a WMO regulatory framework for the provision of early warning services
- Outcomes of the third meeting of the Expert Team on Education, Training and Competency (ET-ETC-3)
- Update to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the 2026 Amendment to WMO's Qualification and Competency Requirements for Aeronautical Meteorological Personnel
- Outcomes of the Second Meeting of the Advisory Group on Volcanic Science for Aviation Applications (AG-VSA-2)
- Publication of the Compendium of Findings on the Effects of Climate Change on Weather Hazards and Analysis of the Impacts of Climate Change on Aviation Operations
- Phase II Aviation Research and Development Project (AvRDP2) work progress and Preparations for the fourth meeting of AvRDP2 Scientific Steering Committee (AvRDP2-SSC-4)
- News from the ICAO Secretariat
- News from the WMO Secretariat
- Upcoming WMO meetings and events
- Coming up next time
Foreword by the Co-Vice-Chair of the WMO Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI)
Dear colleagues,
Hello and welcome to the first 2025 issue of the Services for Aviation newsletter. I am particularly delighted to be on this issue and presenting this to you for the first time. This issue presents insights into the latest activities within the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) in the aviation domain and outlines progress being made within the Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI) and its subsidiary bodies.
Following on from a successful 2024, which included the WMO Aeronautical Meteorology Scientific Conference 2024 (AeroMetSci-2024), the current year has already witnessed a number of activities within the SC-AVI with the successful hosting of the face-to-face meetings of the Expert Team on Education, Training and Competency (ET-ETC) and the Advisory Group on Volcanic Science for Aviation Applications (AG-VSA). The ET-ETC focuses on developing relevant materials for the use of aeronautical meteorological service providers in building capacities and ensuring competencies of aeronautical meteorological professionals across the globe. The Expert Team also reviews current materials to determine their appropriateness to the ever-dynamic world of aeronautical meteorology prioritising safety of lives and property. The AG-VSA provides a bridge between the meteorological and volcanological communities. It supports WMO's engagement with ICAO and other aviation stakeholders in the operation and further development of the international airways volcano watch, including as this relates to volcanic hazards detection and observation and the movement of volcanic ash through the atmosphere.
While the face-to-face meeting of the Task Team on Long-Term Plan for Aeronautical Meteorology (TT-LTP) took place in 2024, the work of the Task Team continues to progress in 2025, with the goal to produce a mature draft that will be fit for purpose, futuristic and addressing industry demands for safety, efficiency, economy and environmental protection in a technologically driven industry and in response to changing climate.
It is also worth mentioning the recent publication of the Compendium of Findings on the Effects of Climate Change on Weather Hazards and Analysis of the Impacts of Climate Change on Aviation Operations (AeM Series No. 9), with significant contributions of the SC-AVI Expert Team on Weather and Climate Science for Aviation Applications (ET-WCS).
As aeronautical meteorological service providers across the world continue to build capacity, ensure competency and provide services that meet industry demands without compromising safety, the WMO through its SC-AVI Thematic Coordinators on Capacity Development and Gender Mainstreaming continue to provide feedback on progress and challenges in the aeronautical meteorology field, with a view to addressing them and promoting cross-boundary cooperation in viable solutions.
The Standing Committee maintains a close collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) bodies on meteorology-related activities addressing various industry issues including adapting to changes, providing relevant services and promoting cooperation towards ensuring that no country is left behind.
While holding dear the past, the SC-AVI is now looking ahead to upcoming activities, such as the fourth meeting of the Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI-4), as we seek to ensure we continuously address the various needs of the aeronautical meteorology community.
Warm regards,
Oluwaseun Wilfred IDOWU
Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Nigeria
Co-Vice Chair of WMO Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI)
A step closer to a WMO regulatory framework for the provision of early warning services
Submitted by Greg Brock, WMO Secretariat
In March 2025 and exclusively in an online mode, WMO convened an extraordinary session of its Services Commission, SERCOM-Ext. (2025). The objective of the extraordinary session was two-fold. First, it was for Members to consider a proposed amendment to the WMO Technical Regulations (WMO‑No. 49), Volume I, General Meteorological Standards and Recommended Practices that will introduce of a regulatory framework for the provision of early warning services. Second, it was for Members to consider updated guidance and an event-types list associated with the implementation of WMO Cataloguing of Hazardous Events (WMO-CHE).
Both aspects were endorsed by Members during SERCOM-Ext. (2025).
The proposed amendment to WMO-No. 49, Volume I aims to enhance an alignment of capacity-development activities, strengthen partner engagement and donor confidence in the United Nations Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative, and provide Members with a consistent framework for authoritative early warning services. The proposed amendment will next be considered by Members during an extraordinary session of the World Meteorological Congress (Cg-Ext. (2025)) to be convened by WMO in Geneva in October 2025.
Meanwhile, the updated WMO-CHE guidance – and event-types list therein – will support Members’ implementation at the national level, laying foundations for a better understanding of hazards, their impacts and evolution over time, and with scalability to the larger physical processes taking into account cascading and transboundary impacts. The Executive Council, at its seventy-ninth session in June 2025 (EC-79), is expected to request the WMO Secretary-General to enable the dissemination of the updated guidance to Members.
Outcomes of the third meeting of the Expert Team on Education, Training and Competency
Submitted by Kathy-Ann Caesar and Karine Dumas, Co-chairs of ET-ETC
The third meeting of the Expert Team on Education, Training and Competency (ET-ETC-3) was held in Montreal, Canada from 24 to 26 March 2025. Kathy-Ann Caesar and Karine Dumas co-chaired the meeting, which was attended in person and online by all the core and associate experts of ET-ETC. The meeting focused on reviewing recent work, updating activities and welcoming new members. The meeting included tours of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and ICAO headquarters as well as a roundtable discussion on the future skills of aeronautical meteorological personnel linked to service delivery transformation.
The key topics discussed were:
- AMP Qualification and Competency: Updates to WMO technical regulations and guidance including new competency frameworks for volcanic ash, space weather and tropical cyclone forecasters.
- Updates to compliance mapping guides and compliance flow charts related to the Basic Instruction Packages (or BIP) for meteorologists and meteorological technicians: This is to ensure their alignment with the current and, more particularly, the updated (1 January 2026 applicable) WMO technical regulations and guidance.
- Training Resources: Refreshing the Services for Aviation Moodle training portal (to be renamed WMO Aviation Training Repository), maintaining training databases, and competency assessment tools.
- Capacity Development: Lessons learned from recent training events, coordination with thematic coordinators, and engagement with ICAO's Global Aviation Training Office.
- Future Skills: Identified skills for AMP, including AI understanding, data manipulation, decision support, maintaining the fundamentals of meteorology, and research skills.
Eighteen actions were formulated during ET-ETC-3, including as these relate to updates to competency frameworks, training resources and WMO publications. Decisions formulated during ET-ETC-3 included the renaming of a Moodle training portal and the closure of actions from the previous meeting. Furthermore, a recommendation was formulated regarding proposed updates to competency frameworks and WMO publications, including guides for meteorological observing systems and personnel competency. The final report of ET-ETC-3 is available here.
The next steps include assigning the action plan and tasks of the ET-ETC Operational Plan 2024-2027, scheduling quarterly conference calls for the remainder of 2025 and planning for the next in-person meeting (ET-ETC-4) in 2027.
Participants expressed satisfaction with the outcomes of the meeting and appreciated the opportunity to meet in person. The next (fourth) meeting of ET-ETC is expected to take place in the first half of 2027.
Update to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on the 2026 Amendment to WMO's Qualification and Competency Requirements for Aeronautical Meteorological Personnel
Submitted by Greg Brock, WMO Secretariat
As reported in previous newsletters (here and here), a set of updated WMO qualification and competency requirements for aeronautical meteorological personnel (AMP) will become applicable on 1 January 2026. An amendment to Technical Regulations (WMO-No. 49), Volume I and an update to the Compendium of WMO Competency Frameworks (WMO-No. 1209) in this connection were approved through Resolution 11 (Cg-19) in 2023 and will be formally published by WMO prior to January 2026. The changes are intended to provide a more pragmatic and flexible approach for WMO Members to demonstrate evidence of the underpinning knowledge and skills required to attain the respective AMP competency and to provide a foundation for competency frameworks to be introduced for aeronautical meteorological specialisms such as volcanic ash, tropical cyclones and space weather.
To support WMO Members and their aeronautical meteorological service providers to prepare for the forthcoming changes, the Expert Team on Education, Training and Competency (ET-ETC) of the Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI) has, for several years, maintained a comprehensive communications package online (available here), which provides information on the rationale for change as well as access to a discussion forum, downloadable information sheets and sets of frequently asked questions (FAQ). ET-ETC recently updated the FAQs (view and download them directly here) and is presently working towards making other relevant resources available in time for the changes that become applicable in January 2026.
Any questions for clarification on the amendment that are not represented in the FAQs can be submitted to ET-ETC via a discussion forum (see here) or sent to the WMO Secretariat (aviation@wmo.int).
Outcomes of the Second Meeting of the Advisory Group on Volcanic Science for Aviation Applications (AG-VSA-2)
Submitted by Samantha Engwell and Matthew Hort, co-chairs of AG-VSA
The aim of the Advisory Group on Volcanic Science for Aviation Applications (AG-VSA) is to assemble experts from atmospheric and volcanological science to inform operational services and products describing the hazard posed by volcanic eruptions to aviation. The second meeting of the group (AG-VSA-2) was held at the British Geological Survey office in Edinburgh, United Kingdom from the 4 to 6 February 2025.
The AG-VSA-2 meeting reviewed several aspects related to volcanic ash hazard to aviation. In particular, the observations and data needed to detect and characterise volcanic activity, and mechanisms for communicating these observations to relevant institutions were discussed. With the upcoming move to a quantitative volcanic ash concentration service, a significant portion of the meeting focused on the recent model and method developments and the required verification statistics needed to implement this service. Sessions and workshops on volcanic science relevant to the aviation community, for example on communication between volcano observatories and volcanic ash advisory centres that will take place at the IAVCEI Scientific Assembly in Geneva from June 29 to July 2025 were also discussed.
On the final morning of the three-day meeting, the AG-VSA welcomed two external experts to join the group to present and inform discussions pertinent to the groups interest: climatic controls on volcanic processes with implications for future volcanic hazard to aviation, and the impact on occupants of aircraft encountering volcanic emissions.
Discussions from the meeting will be used to update the AG-VSA Operating Plan 2024-2027. In total, 12 actions were formulated during AG-VSA-2. Documentation on the AG-VSA-2 meeting, including the final meeting report can be found here.
It is planned that the next meeting of the Advisory Group – AG-VSA-3 – will take place in two years (2027 timeframe). In the meantime, AG-VSA will progress and oversee its work through quarterly conference calls.
Publication of the Compendium of Findings on the Effects of Climate Change on Weather Hazards and Analysis of the Impacts of Climate Change on Aviation Operations
Submitted by Stéphanie Wigniolle and Adriana Oskarsson, WMO Secretariat
Further to the previous announcement here, WMO is pleased to announce that the Compendium of Findings on the Effects of Climate Change on Weather Hazards and Analysis of the Impacts of Climate Change on Aviation Operations (AeM SERIES No. 9), is now available under the WMO e-Library, here.
Climate change, often manifesting through more frequent, more intense weather events, sometimes in locations that are different to the ‘norm’, has a profound impact on the aviation industry. Increasingly frequent extreme weather events and more intense hazardous conditions such as tropical cyclones and clear-air turbulence can disrupt the operations of airports and air spaces locally but with wider knock-on ‘network effects’ regionally and sometimes globally.
With WMO’s support, the aeronautical meteorology community is working towards strengthening its support to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and other industry partners to help their efforts to adapt, mitigate, and build resilience, as a response to a changing climate.
As a follow-up to the 2020 survey conducted by the Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI) on the impacts of climate change and variability on aviation and on the basis of its main results (available here), the SC-AVI Expert Team on Weather and Climate Science for Aviation Applications (ET-WCS) has consolidated into a Compendium the findings of the latest assessments of effects of climate change and variability on weather hazards and extreme events, and consequential impacts on aviation.
The 2024 edition of the Compendium has been published by WMO as AeM-SERIES No. 9 and is available here. Following on from the publication, SC-AVI ET-WCS has been tackling an updating of the document with new findings on weather hazards already addressed in the 2024 edition or new hazards or phenomena, with 2028 as a target date for publication of a new edition of the Compendium.
Phase II Aviation Research and Development Project (AvRDP2) work progress and Preparations for the fourth meeting of AvRDP2 Scientific Steering Committee (AvRDP2-SSC-4)
Submitted by Stéphanie Wigniolle, WMO Secretariat, in coordination with Piers Buchanan, Met Office and Chris Davies, NCAR
The year 2025 is the final year of AvRDP2, the second phase of a 5-year Aviation Research and Development project of the World Weather Research Program (WWRP), led by the WMO Research Board (RB) with the support of SERCOM/SC-AVI. AvRDP2 aims at demonstrating the benefits of a gate-to-gate use of advanced meteorological information for aviation operations, with a focus on scientific advancement in observation and forecasting of significant convection and associated hazards. The AvRDP2 Scientific Steering Committee (SSC) is now preparing its fourth and final meeting (AvRDP2-SSC-4), which will be kindly hosted by the Met Office, in Exeter, UK, from 24 to 26 September 2025.
The focus of AvRDP2-SSC-4 will be to review progress and results from trials and experiments conducted since October 2024 on the two selected air route pairs: London–Johannesburg (LHR–JNB) and Hong Kong–Singapore (HKG–SIN). User feedback from the trials will be analysed alongside both objective and subjective results from the verification and validation phase. For the Hong Kong–Singapore route, the outcome of a common verification method and reference dataset will be reviewed. The SSC will also be updated on advancements in blending convection nowcast products for an end-to-end prototype on the London–Johannesburg route and results from a statistical trajectory prediction system. The study on convection-induced turbulence (CIT) conducted by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) in collaboration with the Hong Kong Observatory concluded in 2024. Its latest findings will be presented to the meeting .
Finally, AvRDP2-SSC-4 will come together for the writing of the final report for the project which delivery is expected in December 2025. It will include recommendations for WMO Members related to research and scientific developments in observation and forecasting of significant convection and associated hazards as well as the linkage with the ICAO Hazardous Weather Information System (HWIS). AvRDP2-SSC-4 may also consider opportunities for a possible third phase of AvRDP, to be conducted in the 2028-2031 timeframe, if endorsed by the WWRP within the budget limitations of WMO.
News from the ICAO Secretariat
Submitted by Jun Ryuzaki, Technical Officer, Meteorology, ICAO
ICAO is pleased to report that the amendment proposals to ICAO Annex 3 – Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation (Amendment 82) and the introduction of a new Procedures for Air Navigation Service – Meteorology (PANS-MET, 1st Edition) were adopted by the ICAO Council, at the 234th Session held in April 2025.
This ‘milestone’ amendment, arising from the fifth meeting of the ICAO Meteorology Panel (METP/5, June 2021), consists of the restructured Annex 3 and the introduction of the new PANS-MET, as well as a broad range of improvements to aeronautical meteorological service, to support safe and efficient aircraft operations, such as:
- further development of Space Weather Information Service;
- Introduction of quantitative volcanic ash concentration information (QVA) and further enhancement of the international airways volcano watch (IAVW);
- further development of world area forecast system (WAFS);
- extended use of the ICAO meteorological information exchange model (IWXXM) in support of system-wide information management (SWIM); and
- clarified definition of meteorological authority and the introduction of a new definition for meteorological service provider.
These new standards and procedures are expected to become applicable in November 2025. Further information can be found at ICAO News Releases here.
News from the WMO Secretariat
Submitted by Greg Brock, Chief, Services for Aviation Section, WMO
2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a specialized agency of the United Nations. Following on from its predecessor, the International Meteorological Organization, formed in 1873, WMO was established on 23 March 1950 as the UN’s authoritative voice on weather, climate and water issues through the enactment of a WMO Convention. With this ongoing mandate, WMO coordinates and leverages the work of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) of Member States and Territories and partners around the world in the supply of high-quality, cost effective, authoritative meteorological and climatological information, products and services to support decision-making in all sectors of the economy and society, including in support of international civil aviation. Read more about 75 years of WMO Science for Action here.
At the level of the WMO Secretariat of the Services for Aviation Section, the small team based in Geneva continues to maintain WMO’s technical regulations, guidance and other resources in aeronautical meteorology and to provide direct support to WMO’s Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI) and its subsidiary bodies. In addition, the WMO Secretariat facilitates engagement with Members States and Territories and their aeronautical meteorological service providers as well as partner international organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA). These collaborative pursuits contribute to promoting aviation safety, air navigation efficiency and economic sustainability as well as to reducing aviation’s impact on the environment and to helping aviation mitigate the impacts of climate change. Read more here about WMO’s work in the Services for Aviation activity area or email the team.
Upcoming WMO meetings and events
Note: All information given here is subject to change.
- Seventy-Ninth Session of the Executive Council (EC-79), 16 to 20 June 2025, Geneva, Switzerland.
- Extraordinary Session of the World Meteorological Congress (Cg-Ext. (2025)), 20 to 24 October 2025, Geneva.
- Fourth Meeting of the Standing Committee on Services for Aviation (SC-AVI-4), 4 to 6 November 2025, Geneva, Switzerland.
Coming up next time...
In the next issue of the newsletter readers can look forward to:
- Highlights of EC-79, Cg-Ext. (2025) and SC-AVI-4
- Expectations for SERCOM-4
...and more!
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