Created in 1975 at the initiative of members of the European Union, the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast is an independent intergovernmental organization whose headquarters, until this day, is located in Reading, England. ECMWF is funded by 22 Member States and 12 Associated states. It employs nearly 350 persons, and its supercomputer equipment is one of the largest in Europe. For the past fifteen years or so, ECMWF forecasts tend to be among the most accurate in the world, according to verification data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). ECMWF is currently headed by French meteorologist Florence Rabier, who worked at the local meteorological office of Météo-France.
But, since the advent of Brexit, The situation has changed. The United Kingdom is no longer part of the EU, ECMWF must move to a European country, and this could lead to, For weather data users, consequences rather… Positive !
France has applied to host ECMWF, against several other candidate European cities, by asserting its interest in climate and scientific issues and President Emmanuel Macron's commitments to fight climate change. The forecaster will move some of his teams and their families to the territory of the European Union, and France proposes to install them in the city of Toulouse, where Météo-France and Mercator Ocean (¹) are already established. The move would eventually concern 250 Scientists and technical staff at the centre, and their families, according to the ministry.
Already, ECMWF has decided to move its supercomputer centre to Bologna, in Italy, where the French company Atos SE is building a new centre that will be operational in 2021.
A move to Toulouse "would further improve ECMWF's forecasts for the benefit of all Member States and all Europeans", said the ministry. "France's commitments in the fight against climate change are at the heart of its international action and are a key priority for the president".
The Toulouse Aerospace district could host the ECMWF (CGI)
The decision should be taken before the end of December this year. Beyond the consequences for France's prestige, and more particularly the metropolis of Toulouse, this new location in the heart of Europe could accelerate the opening of ECMWF to the United Nations’Open Data, imposed since the signing of the G8 Open Data Charter in July 2013 (²), complemented by the Digital Agenda (³) published by the European Commission. It can be assumed that the establishment of the weather forecasting centre in the United Kingdom may have been an obstacle to the free availability of data to the general public, so high are the fees demanded until now, specific to a large share of the organization's self-financing. What has reduced, de facto, British financial participation in the common building.
We can always howl at backbiting. But it is surprising to discover that, In a very recent article by The Parliement Mag dated 20 th last September, Umberto Modigliani, ECMWF Deputy Director of Forecasts, responsible, with the department director, continuous production of forecasts and relations with users, Announces the Centre's Opening to Open Data. Curious coincidence, isn't it ?
To be continued…
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(¹) Mercator Ocean International
(²) G8 Open Data Charter
(³) Digital Agenda for Europe
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Related aricles :
Météo-France GRIB files finally for free
Plea for free European data
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