In a world where the impacts of climate change are ever more evident and severe, the need for climate services has increased and will be further increasing. Climate services are fundamental to support both mitigation and adaptation actions, boosting resilience. This is the key takeaway of the 2024 State of Climate Services report published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), one of the partners of Climateurope2. The document includes many relevant messages for Climateurope 2 partners and the climate services community, confirming the important role of quality-assured climate services towards a climate resilient society.

The report was released on November 7th and officially presented and showcased at COP29 in Baku. During a dedicated side event, WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo stressed the urgency of climate services to cope with the impacts of climate change: “As we all know, climate change is no longer a distant threat. It is here, and its impacts are intensifying. The need for high-quality, accessible climate services has never been more urgent. For nations striving to protect their people and communities, these services are not just a matter of environmental protection—they are a matter of human survival. Climate services are essential to safeguarding lives, livelihoods, and the future of our planet”.

The document analyses the development of climate services over the last 5 years highlighting positive trends and faced challenges. It shows that during this time there has been an impressive progress in improving the climate services capacity levels, and that many states have integrated or are currently integrating climate services in their National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). Indeed, over 80% of countries that submitted a NAP recognise the critical role of climate information for the definition of adaptation strategies. Moreover, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) providing ‘advanced’ climate services nearly doubled (from 8 in 2019 to 15 in 2024), although many still operate at an ‘essential’ level, with only one third offering advanced services tailored to specific user needs. Standardisation, which is one of the objectives of the Climateurope2 project, can support the development of quality-assured climate services, which ensure that the information used for the NAPs and provided by NMHSs, just to name a few, is appropriate and eventually helping society to be more climate resilient.

According to the report, the demand for climate services has increased across all sectors, especially in government, agriculture, emergency response, commercial, and tourism industries. This highlights the need for knowledge co-production and co-development processes to ensure that climate services actually meet the needs of users and are actionable. For that, the engagement of stakeholders is key for Climateurope2 to support an equitable European climate services community, ensuring that climate services are accessible, fit for purpose and actionable.

Some of the highlights of the report include the importance of investing in sustainable observation networks and fostering regional collaboration, together with the need to ensure that also climate investments are climate informed and a stronger focus on climate action in the context of the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative. It also includes analyses and success stories from a set of case studies, to illustrate how specific countries, namely Seychelles, Mauritius, Laos, and Ireland, have succeeded in developing and using climate services to deliver a range of socioeconomic benefits and to advance climate action.

Finally, the report features digital resources, such as a story map, that help explore the content in interactive ways, providing a deep dive into various research concepts and widening its reach to the general public. The outcomes of the report are also consolidated in a dashboard designed to help member countries, funding agencies and development partners identify the necessary steps to address climate services gaps and needs and enhance adaptation outcomes.

The document was developed thanks to the contributions from 38 partners including meteorological services from different regions of the world, international agencies, research centres, universities and major climate finance institutions.

(Cover photo credits: John Dal)