New web tool to monitor quality of observations

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) launched a new web-based interface on 17 March 2020 to help monitor the availability and quality of global meteorological observations within the WMO Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS).

The WIGOS Data Quality Monitoring System (WDQMS) monitors the availability and quality of land-based surface and upper-air observations. It is based on near-real-time monitoring information provided by four participating global NWP centres: ECMWF, Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD), Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), and US National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

A key function of WDQMS is to routinely compare the number of observations delivered from the member states all over the world with the number of observations the member states were expected to deliver. This monitoring enables WMO to take early action in case of missing data. Consequently, it will help ensure the flow of critical observational data needed by all countries for weather prediction and climate monitoring purposes.

Future developments of the tool include the production of monthly performance reports for each observed quantity at each WMO land station covering the performance indicators of availability, quality and timeliness. There are also plans to extend the tool to other components of WIGOS, including marine and aircraft observations.

More details are available at the ECMWF Media Centre in the article published on 18 March .