News

ECMWF held a biennial event on the use of high-performance computing in meteorology from 20 to 24 September, bringing together experts from national weather centres, academia and industry.

Kaah Menang, a meteorologist and researcher from the National Department of Meteorology, Cameroon, is to use a one-year World Meteorological Organization Fellowship at ECMWF to work on a Climate Data Store application for Africa.

Thirty-seven experts set out the latest thinking on Earth system observations at ECMWF’s Annual Seminar 2021 from 13 to 17 September. The online event was held jointly with the World Meteorological Organization WCRP–WWRP Symposium on Data Assimilation and Reanalysis.

ECMWF has officially become a multi-site organisation, holding opening ceremonies for offices in Bonn, Germany, and its data centre in Bologna, Italy, on 13 and 14 September 2021.

As ECMWF’s Annual Seminar on Observations gets under way, we take a look at Katie Lean’s work on satellites producing atmospheric motion vectors (AMVs) and a potential future constellation of small satellites carrying microwave sounding instruments.

The European summer of 2021 stands out for great heat, regional fires, heavy rain and devastating floods, which were reflected in the output of ECMWF and the EU’s Copernicus Services which we operate or contribute to.

ECMWF news highlights in the first seven months of 2021 include an upgrade of ECMWF’s Integrated Forecasting System; projects and workshops to drive forward weather science; and new developments regarding the EU-funded Copernicus services implemented by ECMWF.

As part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 project APPLICATE, ECMWF has reviewed the challenges that limit forecast skill in Arctic regions. Advances have been made in coupled modelling, process-based diagnostics, and the effective use of observations and data assimilation.

The summer 2021 issue of the ECMWF Newsletter is now available. As well as news about ECMWF staff and events, it features articles about new developments and the use that can be made of ECMWF products.

ECMWF is to continue as the computational centre for the hydrological forecasting activities of the EU-funded Copernicus Emergency Management Service for a further six years. The computational centre helps to deliver the European and Global Flood Awareness Systems, EFAS and GloFAS.