The Extraordinary Session of the Commission for Weather, Climate, Hydrological, Marine and Related Environmental Services and Applications (SERCOM-Ext 2025) has approved new guidelines from the WMO for the cataloging of hazardous events and early warning systems.
The group, which met virtually on March 18-20, approved the updated WMO Guidelines on the Cataloguing of Hazardous Events (WMO-CHE) and the accompanying WMO Event Types List (originally endorsed in Resolution 12 (EC-76)). Implementation of the guidelines will lay the foundation for a better understanding of hazards, their impacts and evolution over time, with scalability to the larger physical processes taking into account cascading and transboundary impacts. Moreover, it will support future activities to strengthen WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS) centers in assisting members with hazardous events cataloguing.
Discussions also addressed proposed amendments to the Technical Regulations (WMO-No.49), introducing a new section on early warning services. These amendments aim to enhance the alignment of capacity-development activities, strengthen partner engagement and donor confidence in the Early Warnings for All initiative and provide members with a consistent framework for authoritative early warning services.
SERCOM approved the proposed amendments and recommended their consideration by the WMO Congress.