Surface Transport Service
Delivery
Dr Tang Xu
Director, WDS
WMO
WMO; Name of Department (ND)
Expected outcome of meeting

Recommendations to the upcoming meeting of
the Presidents of Technical Commissions (PTCs)
(29 and 31January 2015) on surface transport
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Background
Recommendations by UN Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE) on Climate Change Impacts and
Adaptation for International Transport Networks
(New York and Geneva 2013):
 Fostering cooperation between the UNECE &
WMO
 Establishing a process for better communication
among transport professionals, climate
scientists, and relevant scientific experts
 Sharing of best practices for addressing
potential impacts of climate variability and
change in the transport sector
Background



Request by NMHSs (such as Meteo Suisse)
Request by the user community, e.g. The International
Railway Union (Based in Paris)
The post-2015 framework: Contribution of transport sector
to all three pillars of sustainable economic, social and
environmental development were recognized in the post2015 framework for sustainable development
Background

Resolution 4 EC-66 (WMO-No. 1136, Page 122), Geneva
June 2014:
 Requested relevant technical commissions and
appropriate service delivery oriented working groups to
investigate the potential benefits that will meet the
current and emerging needs of the transport sector
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Background

Several meetings organized by the WDS Department to
discuss implementation of surface transport services
 Meeting of the EC Working Group on Service delivery
Geneva, Switzerland, 25-27 March 2014
 Informal Consultation Meeting Ad-hoc expert group on
integrated approach to meteorological service delivery
to transport sector (Geneva, 4 April 2014)
 Land Transport was discussed at CBS Ext 2016 (Sept
2014)
 Land Transport Meeting (Geneva, 9 October 2014)
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Outcome from discussions




Feedback from Members has shaped the approach of
implementing the surface transport initiative
Land transport (road and rail) have the first priority.
Integrated transport and multi-modal transport (bringing
together aviation, marine and surface transport) to be
considered later
WMO to provide Members with guidance on observations,
data management, data processing, forecasting and
delivery of services based on user requirements
To carry out analysis of the requirements of the transport
community and existing gaps
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Outcome of discussions




To make surface transport an important component of the
implementation of the WMO Strategy for Service Delivery
and Its Implementation Plan
WMO Programmes to factor surface transport in their
functions (WIGOS, WIS etc)
The Ad-hoc expert group on integrated approach to
meteorological service delivery to transport sector was
formed
The Team developed a concept note focused on
identifying the specific requirements of land transportation
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Way Forward


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Form an inter-commission expert team, under CBS?: to
assist Members improve service delivery to land transport
from observation (integration of public and private
networks, sensors and their standardizations), through
data collection and sharing to delivery of services in the
best possible way
Guide NMHSs on finding out and engaging with private
sector owners of instruments on the road and rail systems
Standardization of equipment and sensors including their
siting, exposure, data collection mode, data processing
leverage investments by Members and NMHSs to improve
standards of observations
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Way Forward



Investments in WIGOS and WIS as well as in forecasting
and service delivery be taken into consideration and
applied in improving the road transportation services
Take advantage of modern technology: mobile devices and
GPS driven systems that could integrate weather and road
conditions into location of road users or road operators
Start by mapping out the situation about road transport in a
region (RAVI for example) or a particular country and see
gaps and how to address them
10
Way Forward

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Recommend to Congress to request EC to launch a
mechanism to investigate this issue and report back to
Congress in 4 years with reports on:
 current situation;
 what steps have been taken to improve the situation
and address the problem; and
 what projects have been implemented and their results
Technical commissions (especially CIMO and CBS) could
be asked to engage in the process and work through a
mechanism to be agreed by EC to address this issue
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Way Forward

To present issue to Congress as the first thematic
area of the implementation of the WMO Strategy
for Service Delivery and its Implementation Plan
 Implementation to be based on
 Quality management, competency and
standardization
 Impact-based forecasting and risk based
warning
 Demonstration of Social and Economic Benefits
of land transport services
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