Hydrological and climate monitoring by WMO

Tommaso Abrate, Scientific officer Climate and Water Department

• Decision-making processes need to be supported

by reliable data and information

• Changing precipitation, melting snow and ice

patterns and ETP are altering hydrological systems.

Challenges for Hydrometry

Without data any conjecture is possible,

any model can be proposed, any litigation

can be fostered (R. Rosso; Bisagno, il fiume nascosto, 2014)

Challenges for Hydrometry

• Insufficient capacity of current

monitoring networks

• Long-term data collection

• Lack of good quality data

• Low visibility and recognition of

Hydrological Services

Decline of monitoring networks

Technical Report on Methodology and Lessons Learnt for ECOWAS countries (2017)

Hydrometry networks are essential BUT insufficiently developed

How can WMO help?

DATA PRODUCTION & COLLECTION

DATA PROCESSING & STORAGE

DATA VISIBILITY & AVAILABILITY

DATA RESCUE

World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS)

Standardisation and quality

management QMF

Meteorological, Climatological and

Hydrological (MCH) Database Management System

WMO Hydrological Observing System (WHOS)

WaterML 2.0

Global Data Centers: Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC), International Data

Centre On Hydrology Of Lakes And Reservoirs

(HYDROLARE) & International Groundwater

Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC)

HydroHub

(WHYCOS)

Med-Hycos 1997-2001

AOC-HYCOS 2000-2002

SADC-HYCOS Phase I 1998-2001

Mekong-Hycos 2006-2012

Carib-HYCOS 2007 – on going Niger-Hycos

2005 – on going

Volta-Hycos 2006 – on going

SADC-HYCOS Phase II 2005-2009

HKH-Hycos 2009-on going

Artic-Hycos 2014- ongoing

Pacific-HYCOS 2006 – on going

IGAD – Hycos 2011 – on going

Aral – Hycos 2006– on going

Congo-Hycos 2010-on going

Senegal-Hycos 2007-on going

World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS)

Global Hydrological Status and Outlook System

• Simple, easily accessible hydrological information to users

– Current global hydrological status

– Where this is significantly different from ‘normal’

– Where this is likely to get worse

• Adopted in 2016

• Pilot phase over the 2016-2020

• Supported by WHOS, WaterML2.0

WMO Data Exchange Policy

Committed to broadening and enhancing, whenever possible, the free and unrestricted international exchange of data and products necessary for the provision of services in support of the protection of life and property and the well being of all the nations…”, in consonance with the requirements for WMO’s scientific and technical programmes

Innovation domains

• Sensors

• Citizen observatories

• Information systems

• Transforming data and information into knowledge for decision makers

• Open data policy and transboundary data sharing

Standards and Quality Management

• Quality is essential

• Four benefits of QM – Better management and a more

effective organization

– Employee satisfaction and commitment to the organization

– Improving the quality of products and services.

– Improving customer satisfaction and NHS image

Lessons learned from the previous assessment: Different approaches/methodologies complicate regional assessments

Quality Management Framework

Quality Management Framework

• Embedded in all system components

• Impacts on information and knowledge quality

• Strengthen users’s confidence in data, products and services quality

• Makes users aware of inherent uncertainty

• National implementation

• No need for formal certification

• Cost of quality vs cost of lack of it

Conclusions • Data collection is national responsibility

• WMO supports global, regional and national efforts in

hydrology:

– Improved monitoring

– Innovative technologies

– Data management tools

– Quality of data

– Data exchange and sharing . Infrastructure and regulatory framework

Thank you Merci