As part of this we play an active role in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Voluntary Co-operation Programme (VCP), working with partners to enhance the capabilities of national meteorological services in developing countries.

(WMO) Voluntary Co-operation Programme

The main purpose of the VCP is to provide support to national meteorological services of developing countries in the form of equipment, services and training.

The key aim is to help improve their capacity to forecast weather and climate, in turn allowing them to better deal with weather - and climate-related impacts and natural disasters. This work also plays a part in our commitment to Corporate Responsibility support of the communities in which we work, and ultimately towards achievement of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals(MDGs).

Projects we are involved with

Key areas of support

We work closely with other national meteorological services across the world to improve capacity in a number of areas, including:

Improved information and training for forecasting

Early warning of high-impact weather is vital in saving lives and property from natural disasters, such as floods, drought or tropical cyclones. With the latest techniques and high-quality training for staff, warnings can be given much earlier than ever before.

Improving IT and communications

Meteorologists routinely share vital information which they need to make forecasts, and they need to communicate their forecasts quickly and effectively. This includes delivering them to the public and specialist users in ways they can understand.

Supporting climate observations and applications

Observations are critical in helping to understand the effects of global climate change and contribute to forecast models. Understanding climate change and variability is also key to deal with issues such as food security and environmental sustainability.

Emergency assistance

Assisting with the rapid restoration of critical services provided by national meteorological services whose countries have been affected by natural disasters or conflict.