Meeting on Climate Watch Advisory Integration with Seasonal Forecasts

Strengthening Climate Collaboration

A recent gathering of the RA VI RCCs Network Coordination Team and the RCOF coordinators centered on enhancing cooperation between Climate Watch Advisories (CWAs) and Regional Climate Outlook Forums (RCOFs). The goal was to create more consistent, user-focused climate information to support timely decisions in the region.

Progress and Key Outcomes

Participants endorsed the continued development of an integration framework that addresses ongoing user needs. Collaboration has already improved through regular coordination calls and a joint RCC–RCOF session held in April 2024. A detailed comparison between CWAs and RCOFs outlined their main distinctions in purpose, format, and forecasting scales.

User Feedback and Preferred Approaches

Surveys showed strong demand for clearer, more practical climate services. Many favored modular formats, combining regional overviews with sub-regional annexes to improve accessibility and relevance.

Challenges and Future Actions

Participants discussed key difficulties, such as limited forecast reliability beyond week three, varied modeling systems, and shortages in technical and human capacity. As part of the next steps, the group agreed to:

Prepare a concept note for integration.
Investigate potential pilot projects.
Maintain engagement with climate modeling centers.

Outlook

The meeting concluded with plans to define the evolving responsibilities of RCCs in sub-seasonal climate services. A follow-up session is set for June 20, 2025, focusing on resource allocation and capacity development.

“The aim is to make climate information more coherent, relevant, and useful for early action in the region.”

Author’s summary: The meeting advanced cooperation between CWAs and RCOFs to deliver more usable, coordinated climate insights and identified next steps for regional capacity growth.

World Meteorological Organization WMO — 2025-11-06