WMO initiation of the Severe Weather Forecasting Programme (SWFP) for the subregion of Southeastern Asia-Oceania
WMO initiated a Severe Weather Forecasting Programme (SWFP) for the subregion of Southeastern Asia-Oceania through a technical planning meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 10-14 February. As an enabler for Early Warnings for All, SWFP has already been scaled up and implemented in nine subregions of the world and has now been expanded to two new subregions: Central America (in 2024) and Southeastern Asia-Oceania (in 2025). The new subregional SWFP will broaden collaboration and strengthen severe weather forecasting and early warning services capabilities in participating countries. The initiative will contribute to saving lives and livelihood, to protecting property and infrastructure and to building disaster resilience.
Southeastern Asia-Oceania is very prone to severe weather. Its coastal areas, home to most of the populations as well as most of their economic activities, bare the brunt of severe weather and rising sea levels, while agricultural activities in inland areas are disrupted. Both water and food security are under threat. Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme events, such as rainfall, storms, drought and heatwaves, as well as making such events even more challenging to predict.
Designated national SWFP focal points from Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste participated in the planning meeting. They were guided by representatives from the World Meteorological Centres (WMCs) hosted by Australia, China, ECMWF, Japan and the United Kingdom and from the Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) in Hong Kong (SAR China) and Tokyo. They discussed the common severe weather features in the region, identified requirements for a collaborative subregional approach and provided practical recommendations for implementation of joint work in the future. The focal points also eagerly learnt from the experiences of experts from RSMC Wellington, and Regional Forecast Support Centre (RFSC) Ha Noi, Viet Nam, who provide regional severe weather forecasting guidance services within the framework of SWFP-South Pacific and SWFP-Southeast Asia.
Together, the participants made a comprehensive review of numerical weather prediction (NWP) data/products needs, satellite information and nowcasting capabilities, flash flood guidance system and Impact-Based Forecasting and Warning Services (IBFWS) and training requirements. They then agreed that their host, the Indonesian Agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics (BMKG), would serve as the RFSC with the Malaysian Meteorological Department (MMD) as a back-up. In the coming months, an implementation plan will be developed for the subregion and participating centres will start preparatory work.
The planning meeting received support from the UK Met Office as part of the Weather and Climate Information Services (WISER) Asia Pacific programme funded by the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
