OpenWeather Engages in Shaping Europe's Climate Service Future

OpenWeather recently participated in a crucial European dialogue focused on the future of climate services, joining key stakeholders at the “European Regulation of Climate Services: A Dialogue with Private Providers” conference in Barcelona.

Represented by Olga Buskin,Head of Talent, Culture and Social Impact, and Dmytro Chupryna, Lead Business Development Manager, OpenWeather contributed to discussions addressing the growing demand for reliable climate information across Europe.

Europe is moving towards regulating climate services to foster transparency and quality. The Barcelona event, hosted by the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), World Meteorological Organization (WMO), DNV, and Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), was a pivotal step, bringing private sector providers together to contribute to the forthcoming standardisation process led by European bodies CEN and CENELEC.

The Drive for Standardisation

Effective climate services require a credible scientific basis, user engagement, accessible delivery, and responsiveness. Currently, while technical guidelines for data exist, standards for other crucial components are less developed. This inconsistency creates uncertainty. The EU's standardisation initiative seeks to establish a common framework, building trust and enhancing the value of climate services across the continent.

Insights from the Dialogue

The Barcelona conference helped build direct peer-to-peer exchange through collaborative sessions. Key discussion areas included mapping the diverse climate service landscape, improving stakeholder interactions, integrating scientific and domain-specific knowledge, evaluating service effectiveness, and designing practical assurance and certification schemes.

A central focus was ensuring services are not just scientifically sound but demonstrably meet user needs. This involves understanding barriers to adoption, defining success metrics, integrating user feedback, and establishing trust through transparent quality assurance. OpenWeather believes robust, accessible data is foundational. Our Historical Weather Data API, for instance, offers decades of quality-checked information, providing the necessary scientific basis discussed at the event.

The development of balanced certification processes was seen as fundamental – schemes must build confidence without stifling the innovation needed to advance climate solutions.

OpenWeather's Commitment

OpenWeather is dedicated to providing high-quality, accessible weather and climate data to support informed decision-making. Products in our extensive range of Weather APIs ensure easy integration of current, forecast, and historical data, building on the conference's emphasis on accessible delivery mechanisms. Alongside our APIs, tools like the OpenWeather Dashboard provide users with powerful ways to visualize data, monitor conditions, receive alerts, and gain actionable and customizable insights.

Our participation in Barcelona highlights our commitment to collaborating in the development of a regulated, trustworthy European climate services market. This aligns with our OpenWeather Initiative, which includes supporting students, researchers, and open-source developers with access to weather data to foster innovation and education in climate science. We view standardisation as a positive step towards wider adoption of climate information and enhanced resilience.

Resilience Put to the Test: A Look Ahead

While the dialogue on climate service standards in Barcelona was crucial, the conference itself faced an unexpected challenge: a widespread power outage across Spain and Portugal. Ironically, this blackout served as a stark, real-time reminder of the very resilience being discussed.

Olga Buskin, OpenWeather's Head of Talent, Culture and Social Impact, captured the moment:

"Even as Spain went dark, our commitment to climate dialogue stayed bright, participating in this conference amid a blackout reminded us that resilience isn't just a theme, it's a lived reality."

Navigating this situation while focusing on Europe's climate future offered unique insights. In our next article, we'll delve deeper into this unexpected event and what it taught us about resilience.