The WMO Global Basic Observing Network (GBON)

Global numerical weather prediction (NWP), including climate reanalysis, plays an essential role as the backbone for all products and services provided by WMO Members to their constituencies, even for services targeted at regional and local levels. The open and unrestricted access to observational data from the entire global domainprovided through the WMO Global Observing System (GOS) is critical for these applications. Much of the information needed for NWP can be obtained from satellite data, but in some areas, especially over land, and for certain key variables, e.g. vertically resolved winds, surface pressure, surface-based observing systems remain of critical importance. Lack of observational data over one or more areas of the globe will negatively impact the quality of the forecast and analysis products, not only in the area of missing data, but elsewhere on the globe as well. And yet monitoring statistics provided by the WIGOS Data Quality Monitoring System (WDQMS), show continued unsatisfactory availability of surface-based observational data over many areas of the global domain.

In order to address this shortcoming, the 18^thWorld Meteorological Congress in June 2018 decided to implement the Global Basic Observing Network (GBON), with the primary aim of clarifying the obligations of the WMO Members to provide critically needed observational data for near-real time international exchange at the global level. The regulatory material for GBON is currently in development, and approval by the WMO Executive Council is expected in June 2020.Initially, the focus of GBON will be on surface pressure and upper air data provided by the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of the WMO Members, and it is expected that the network will be expanded to include other observing systems in a later stage.

The presentation will provide analysis and background of the current status of international exchange of observational data, a description of the requirements analysis and design process behind GBON, and a brief outline of WMO’s plans for implementing the network also in developing countries and in remote, sparsely populated areas.