5 July 2010: The 62nd session of the Executive Council of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) took place in Geneva, Switzerland, from 8-18 June 2010, and adopted innovative approaches for further advancing global observing systems, research and forecasts in the fields of weather, climate and water, in a general context of financial crisis.

At the meeting, the Council underlined the need for developing the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) as a required tool for building sustainable economies. The Council adopted decisions on: the next WMO Strategic Plan and the results-based strategic planning process of the Organization; the role of technical commissions and regional associations in developing a WMO-wide Operating Plan; the role and contribution of WMO and the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in contributing to the solution of global and regional problems; and WMO reform.

The Council emphasized WMO’s enhanced role in the UN-coordinated response to climate change further to the success of the third World Climate Conference (WCC-3), held from 31 August-4 September 2009, in Geneva. It also agreed on priority areas for the next financial period, including: the GFCS; capacity building; WMO Integrated Observations and Information Systems; and disaster risk reduction (DRR).

The Council, inter alia: emphasized the need to enhance capacity building and training in most developing countries and in least developed countries (LDCs); and requested the WMO Secretary-General to leverage partnerships with agencies, such as UN-International Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN/ISDR), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Bank, to analyze national disaster risk management capacities and coordination mechanisms.

The Council further decided that the theme of World Meteorological Day 2012 will be “Powering our future with weather, climate and water,” to illustrate the benefits of climate predictions, including in the renewable energy and water management sectors. This session was the third of the 15th financial period (2008-2011) and the last before the 16th World Meteorological Congress, to be held in Geneva from 16 May-3 June 2011. [WMO Press Release]