Extreme maritime weather - symposium - 23-25 October - London

Identifying ways to reduce the loss of life and property, damage to the environment, as well as disruptions to the economy from extreme maritime weather.

Millions of dollars in goods and thousands of lives are still lost at sea each year due to extreme weather conditions. In the maritime environment, vessels of any size are exposed and vulnerable to the elements. High winds, large waves, fog, thunderstorms, sea ice, freezing spray and volcanic ash make marine transportation a very high-risk enterprise.

Nonetheless, the ocean and seas provide a sustainable transportation route for the global economy – a “blue economy” that is estimated at US$ 3-6 trillion/year, a massive 70% of world trade, which provides livelihoods for over 6 billion people (IUMI, 2017 and UNCTAD, 2019). 

By sharing and exchanging meteorological information among themselves and with national hydrometeorological centres and commercial weather providers, mariners and other relevant stakeholders improve their decision-making.

That said, even today mariners are still heavily reliant on decades old technology – radiofax and text broadcasts – for dissemination. Readiness, responsiveness and resilience can be improved at sea by further transitioning science and technology advances into forecast operations, applying research to improve the communication and usefulness of information, and expanding its dissemination.

WMO and IMO are bringing together experts for this first International Symposium to initiate a dialogue on these critical issues.

FREE REGISTRATION: You are invited to attend and share this information to shipping, industry and meteorological communities, and other relevant stakeholders, to encourage their participation.  

For more information please contact the WMO Marine Meteorology and Ocean Affairs Division (mmo@wmo.int)

Expected outcomes of the Symposium:

Discussions on how the met-ocean, shipping and other relevant maritime communities can work together to optimize and improve the value chain ranging from met-ocean observations to forecasts, products and services, to minimize risks of adverse weather to vessels and property at sea

Consideration of how these products and services help inform decisions that can be most effectively delivered to end-users such as industry, shipping, freight and passenger companies, trans-oceanic route planning, as well as weather avoidance and environmental emergency response

Recommendations for effective and efficient delivery to the end-users

Better understanding of the opportunities and challenges between those delivering met-ocean information and those using it.

First dialogue towards a potential regular (bi-annual) meeting, co-hosted by IMO/WMO, with all relevant stakeholders involved

Assistance to countries around the world to respond to international targets through the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2012)Contribution to the UN Decade on Ocean Science for Sustainable Development