World Meteorological Organization / Joint ET-ETC/ET-GOV/Doc. 2.3
COMMISSION FOR AERONAUTICAL METEOROLOGY / 26.XI.2015
Joint Meeting of ET-ETC and ET-GOV
Wellington, New Zealand
30 November – 3 December 2015 / ITEM 2
English only

REVIEW OUTCOMES AND DIRECTIONS BY RELEVANT WMO AND ICAO MEETINGS

17th WMO Congress

(Submitted by the Secretariat)

Summary and Purpose of Document
This document provides information on the discussions and decisions of the 17th WMO Congress (May-June 2015) on aeronautical meteorology including relevant Congress resolutions.

ACTION PROPOSED

The action by the meeting is in paragraph 3.

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Joint ET-ETC/ET-GOV/Doc. 2.3, p. 1

1.EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The meeting was informed about …

2.PROGRESS/ACTIVITY REPORT

2.1The seventeenth session of the WorldMeteorological Congress (Cg-17) was held from 25 May to 12 June 2015in Geneva. The Abridged final report with resolutions is now published on:

2.2The Aeronautical Meteorology Programme (AeMP) was well presented in the Cg-17 agenda with three main documents, as follows: Doc 2.5(5), Report of the President of CAeM; Doc 3.1(2), Aeronautical Meteorology; and Doc 9.2, Integrated Meteorological Services for Future Air Traffic Management – WMO Response, presented under agenda item: Future Challenges and Opportunities. In addition, the AEM Division was also responsible for
Doc 3.1(7), WMO Quality Management Framework.

2.3Cg-17 adopted the following Resolutions pertinent to the AeMP and CAeM:

2.3.1Resolution 1 (Cg-17), Report of the Fifteenth Session of the Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology, including revised Terms of Reference of the Commission. The revised TORs of CAeM are available on: These TORs are more focused on the core activities of the AeMP and also emphasize the collaboration with ICAO. In the same resolution, Cg-17 endorsed the view of the CAeM-15 for the need of longer term planning of the AeMP in line with the ASBU blocks (Annex II to Cg-17 report reproduces Recommendation 2 (CAeM-15), Long-term Planning to Support Aeronautical Meteorology as a WMO Strategic Priority).

2.3.2Resolution 3 (Cg-17), Aeronautical Meteorology Programme, with the following main Congress decisions:

  • That the Aeronautical Meteorology Programme shall continue to be a high-priority programme and suitably resourced to enable it to maintain the role and the position of WMO in the international collaborative governance of aeronautical meteorological service provision;
  • That the Programme should continue to provide targeted assistance to Members in need to achieve the required level of compliance with the international requirements promulgated by WMO and ICAO;
  • To align the Programme with the new developments in the field of meteorological service for international air navigation;

and subsequent requests (actions) addressed to Secretary-General, Members and Regional Associations.

2.3.3Resolution 66 (Cg-17), WMO Support to Evolving Aeronautical Meteorological Services, through which Congress endorsed the recommendations of the MET Divisional Meeting (2014) and expressed WMO’s commitment in providing expert support inits area of competency to the implementation of the meteorology modules of GANP and ASBU.

2.3.4With Resolution 8 (Cg-17), Amendment of Competency and Qualification Provisions in the Technical Regulations (WMO-No. 49), Volume I, Congress approved some important changes to the provisions regarding competency, including new definitions of the terms “competency”, “qualification” and “operational personnel”. Congress also endorsed proposed competency requirements in other service areas, such as marine forecasters and public weather service forecasters. Although, other disciplines followed the example of the AMP requirements, their proposals are not fully mature for amendment of WMO-No.49 (as discussed during the recent training on WMO Technical Regulations in the Secretariat).

2.3.5Other Cg-17 resolutions of relevance to the AeMP and CAeM include inter alia: Resolution 7 (Cg-17), WMO Quality Management Framework; and Resolution 38 (Cg-17), Four-year Plan for WMO Coordination of Space Weather Activities, calling for specific action by CAeM.

2.4Cg-17 approved the WMO Strategic Plan 2016 – 2019 (Resolution 69 (Cg-17)) in which aviation meteorological service is recognized as one of the seven strategic priority areas, i.e.,:1. Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR); 2. Global Framework for ClimateServices (GFCS); 3. WMO Integrated GlobalObserving System (WIGOS); 4. Aviation meteorological services; 5.Polar and high mountains regions; 6.Capacity Development; and, 7.Governance. The priority area related to aviation meteorology is formulated as follows:

Aviation meteorological services: Improve the ability of NMHSs to provide sustainable

high quality services in support of safety, efficiency and regularity of the air traffic

management worldwide, with due account to environmental factors by:

(a) accelerating the implementation of ICAO / WMO competency and qualification standards and Quality Management Systems (QMS);

(b) addressing emerging requirements and challenges related to the 2013–2028 Global Air Navigation Plan, in particular concerning ICAO’s Block 1 Upgrades (ASBUs); and

(c) strengthening the sustainability and competitiveness of aeronautical meteorological service provision through improved cost recovery mechanisms and suitable business models for service delivery frameworks;

As seen from above, ET-ETC and ET-GOV will have a major role in the follow-up of the Congress decision for prioritizing the aeronautical meteorology, which should be properly reflected in their respective work programmes.

2.5 Cg-17 also endorsed a new Aeronautical Meteorology Programme description, which is provided in Annex III to the Cg-17 report and is also available on the website at:

3.ACTION/PLANS/RESPONSIBILITIES WITH DELIVERABLES

  1. Review the revised Cg-17 resolutions and decisions relevant to the AeMP and CAeM; and
  1. Ensure that appropriate follow-up actions are included in the work programmes of the ET-ETC and ET-GOV.

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