World Meteorological Organization

Purpose

Responding to the WMO Convention, article 2(c) (Basic Documents, No. 1 (WMO-No. 15)), which states that one of the primary purposes of the organization shall be “To promote standardization of meteorological and related observations and to ensure the uniform publication of observations and statistics”, the Standing Committee will focus on the normative work and technical systems required to achieve Objective 2.1 of the WMO Strategic Plan: “{to} Optimize the acquisition of Earth system observation data through the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS)”, in particular as concerns the capture and publication of measurand quality as supported by measurements, instrumentation and traceability.

The activities of the Standing Committee will include the following:
(a) With the Regional Associations, in collaboration with the other Standing Committees and Study Groups of the Infrastructure Commission and in collaboration with the Services Commission and Research Board , and with reference to the Rolling Review of Requirements, gather and review measurement requirements across all relevant technology streams, user programmes and disciplines, to update relevant documentation and provide guidance to support the new and changed requirements;
(b) In collaboration with the Research Board and manufacturers, promote innovation and the application of emerging technologies, techniques and integrated solutions in measurement, and where these are beneficial, to provide guidance for their implementation and integration within global, regional, sub-regional and national observing networks;
(c) Develop, provide and maintain effective standards, other regulatory and guidance material related to instrumentation and measurement practices, that facilitate creating data that is easily shared among stakeholders and support the deployment of sustainable, reliable, cost-effective and fit-for-purpose measurement systems meeting user requirements including those of relevant United Nations agreements, such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Sendai Framework;
(d) Develop, establish, publish, maintain and provide guidance on the application of suitable mechanisms to enable the traceability of measurement quality to international standards, also quantifying the uncertainties of the measurements;
(e) Coordinate and conduct intercomparisons, in cooperation with relevant networks as appropriate, and develop a framework including the development of best practices, for characterizing the quality of measurements from traditional and non-traditional data sources;
(f) Develop, update and promote education and training material and recommend competency-based training events in the field of environmental measurements, instrumentation and traceability, in collaboration with Regional Training Centres, Regional Instrument Centres and Lead Centres and the Research Board: Conduct outreach activities, development of best practices, and support capacity development and community of practices especially for the transition from manual to automatic measurements;
(g) Develop mechanisms for the compliance assessment of WMO designated measurement-related centres against measurement regulations, and perform such assessments as appropriate;
(h) Engage with other WMO structures, WMO programmes, co-sponsored programmes and related international partner organizations when coordinating relevant activities.