As climate change impacts intensify, the need for the provision and use of climate data, information, and knowledge or so-called climate services, to support mitigation, adaptation and increase resilience has never been higher. In the past five years, there has been progress in provision of this climate information for decision-making, but big gaps remain and investment lags far behind needs, according to a new multi-agency flagship report produced by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
Turn science into services to support climate action
The State of Climate Services report says that in 2024, one third of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) provide climate services at an ‘essential’ level, and nearly one third at an ‘advanced’ or `full’ level. It says that countries in Asia and Africa, in particular, have made strides in boosting their capacity thanks to targeted adaptation funding.
“On our journey towards sustainable development, we need to do more to turn climate science and climate information into actionable services, to make climate services more accessible and to use them more effectively,” says WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
“In the face of unprecedented environmental challenges, the development, delivery, and use of climate information to enable climate action has never been more crucial,” she says.
2023 was the warmest year on record to date, with the unprecedented warmth continuing into 2024. Many climate extremes are becoming more frequent and intense. While weather and climate-related reported deaths are decreasing over time due to better early warnings and disaster risk management, economic losses are increasing.
In the period from 2020 to mid- 2024, floods remained the most frequently reported disaster. However, heat-related hazards became the leading cause of deaths, accounting for 57% of the total reported weather, water, and climate related-deaths globally. Storms resulted in the greatest economic losses, contributing to 59% of the total, according to data from the International Disaster Database EM-DAT cited in the report.
WMO has issued annual reports on the state of climate services for the past five years. This is in response to a request from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) for more information on adaptation needs and to help identify steps needed to address climate service gaps and needs, to inform more effective investment. All climate action investments need to be climate informed so that they are forward looking – the past is no longer indicative of the future.
Belgian Climate Centre allows stakeholders to find each other in the production and dissemination of climate-related information
The latest edition of the report includes analysis and stories to explain how specific countries, including Belgium, have succeeded in developing and using climate services to deliver a range of socioeconomic benefits and advance climate action.
The Belgian Climate Centre provided the Belgian case study to the report, serving as a concrete implementation of the so-called National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS) to enhance the production, delivery, and application of climate services at a national level.
“Belgium has a wealth of climate-related research expertise, data and services, but these are so fragmented,” states Dr. De Troch, Climate services lead at the Belgian Climate Centre.
“With the creation of the Belgian Climate Centre, Belgium has managed to create a central point of collection and dissemination of their climate-related information and climate services,” she says.
The Belgian Climate Centre continues to centralize and to improve the access to data and information by acting as central access point for its stakeholders.
More information
Find out more on our data and climate services activities: https://www.climatecentre.be/data