World Bank2012-05-252012-05-252008978-0-8213-7585-3https://hdl.handle.net/10986/6464This paper reviews the status of weather and climate services in Europe and Central Asia (ECA).Worldwide, the accuracy and value of weather and climate services are rising, bringing great economic benefits. However, many National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in Europe and Central Asia are in decline. As a result, these potential gains are often missed. Much more could be done to mitigate weather disasters, support the productivity of smallholding and commercial agriculture, conserve energy, and promote safe aviation and transport by road and rail. Although NMHS capacity deficiencies are serious, they could be significantly remedied by relatively modest but sustained investments. Economic assessments indicate substantial benefit-to-cost ratios for such initiatives. A strategy for NMHS service improvement requires assessment of national climate, user needs, NMHS status and provision of services, and the economic benefits of an upgrade to weather and climate services. recommendations for agency modernization should include (a) a prioritized plan for improving data delivery to national users, (b) identification of the highest-priority infrastructure investments, and (c) a reasonable phasing plan for overall modernization.en-USCC BY 3.0 IGOAEROSOLSAGRICULTUREAGROMETEOROLOGYAIRAIR CIRCULATIONAIR QUALITYALTITUDEANTICYCLONESATMOSPHEREATMOSPHERIC PROCESSESATMOSPHERIC RESEARCHBENCHMARKINGBENEFIT ANALYSISCAPACITY BUILDINGCITIESCLIENT COUNTRIESCLIMATECLIMATE CHANGECLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATIONCLIMATE FORECASTSCLIMATE MODELSCLIMATE SYSTEMCLIMATOLOGICAL DATACLIMATOLOGYCLOUDINESSCLOUDSCYCLONECYCLONESDAMAGESDATA COLLECTIONDATA GATHERINGDATA SHARINGDEVELOPED COUNTRIESDONATIONSDROUGHTDROUGHT MANAGEMENTDUSTECONOMIC BENEFITSECONOMIC MODELSECONOMIC RATE OF RETURNECONOMIC SECTORSECONOMIC STRUCTUREECONOMIC VALUEECONOMICSENVIRONMENTALENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTIONEVAPORATIONEVAPOTRANSPIRATIONEXPLOITATIONFARMSFISHFISHERIESFISHINGFLOODINGFLOODSFOGFOOD PRODUCTIONFORESTRYFORESTSFROSTGCMGDPGENERAL CIRCULATION MODELGLOBAL INTERESTGLOBAL NETWORKGROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCTHAILHYDROLOGYHYDROMETEOROLOGYINCOMEINSURANCEINTERGOVERNMENTAL PANEL ON CLIMATE CHANGEINTERNATIONAL COOPERATIONIPCCIRRIGATIONLAKESLAND COVERLAND TEMPERATURELAND USELEGISLATIONLEISUREMEDIAMETEOROLOGICAL DATAMETEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONSMETEOROLOGICAL SATELLITESMETEOROLOGYMONOPOLIESNATIONAL ECONOMIESNATIONAL ECONOMYOCEANSOPTIMIZATIONPARTICULATESPOLICY MAKERSPOLLUTIONPRECIPITATIONPRECIPITATION RATEPRODUCERSPRODUCTIVITYPROGRAMSPUBLIC GOODSRADIORAINRAINFALLRELATIVE HUMIDITYRIVER BASINSRIVERSRUNOFFRURAL INFRASTRUCTURESEASSEVERE STORMSSEVERE WEATHERSIBERIASINKSNOWSOILSTORMSSTRATOSPHERESTREAMSSUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENTTELECOMMUNICATIONTELECOMMUNICATIONSTELECOMSTEMPERATURETROPOSPHEREUPPER ATMOSPHEREVALUATIONVARIABLE PRECIPITATIONWEATHERWEATHER DISASTERSWEATHER EVENTSWEATHER FORECASTINGWEATHER FORECASTSWEATHER HAZARDSWEATHER INFORMATIONWEATHER MONITORINGWEATHER PATTERNSWEATHER PREDICTIONWEATHER REPORTSWEATHER SERVICESWEATHER STATIONSWILLINGNESS TO PAYWINDWIND SPEEDWINDSWMOWORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATIONWORLD WEATHER WATCHWTPWorld Bank10.1596/978-0-8213-7585-3