Data Management and Sharing support activities

Data Management and Sharing support activities are intended to equip NMHSs with appropriate data management and sharing tools that allow effective data management and interoperable data exchange, as well as foster the development of data sharing agreements at national and international levels in accordance with the WMO Unified Data Policy. This will allow NMHSs to secure, manage and share collected data, and significantly amplify its potential by bringing together information content that is often dispersed in heterogeneous formats and systems. Data that is not accessible is worth much less than connected data.

Benefits for:

NMHSs: to better manage their hydromet data and share them in an efficient and interoperable way with users and riparian countries

Data management

The WMO HydroHub facilitates the provision of the Meteorology, Climatology and Hydrology (MCH) database management system, provided for free to NMHSs upon an official request to WMO from Permanent Representatives of Members with WMO or Hydrological Advisers. MCH is based on open-source software which allows NMHSs, who do not have any database management system and/or do not have enough financial resources to purchase commercial products, to store, manage and analyze their observed meteorological, climatological, hydrological and any environmental data and metadata in a centralized database. All new products/modules developed for MCH will be fully compliant with the OpenCDMS project which aims at providing WMO Members with an open-source database management system for their environmental data, in alignment with the WMO Climate Database Management System (CDMS) specifications and international standards.

The WMO HydroHub also facilitates the provision of face-to-face trainings to NMHSs upon request as well as through development projects being designed.

Data sharing

The free, efficient and interoperable exchange of hydrological data is an essential element for undertaking basin-wide activities as well as preventing conflicts in the transboundary context. These activities range from hydrological hazards prevention (e.g. flood protection, droughts) to water resources management (e.g. to ensure food security). Also, international exchange of data and information is required in support of scientific studies/research of the water cycle and the impacts of a changing climate. The WMO HydroHub facilitates the implementation of the WMO Hydrological Observing System (WHOS), as a WIS 2.0 hydrological component, building on the achievements of the three WHOS transboundary implementations during the WMO HydroHub Phase I (in the La Plata Basin, Arctic Region and Dominican Republic).

The WMO HydroHub facilitates the implementation of WHOS, the provision of distance learning and face-to-face trainings upon request, as well as the development of data sharing agreements.