Corporate culture and strategy through to 2030

Protecting life and property. Producing economic benefits. A word from DWD President Prof. Dr Adrian

Our daily lives are shaped by change. phenomena, such as thunderstorms. This also applies to the Deutscher The Deutscher Wetterdienst strives Wetterdienst and its topics of to become a central port of call, both and . We must be prepared here in and worldwide, for for climate change, globalisation and climate monitoring, climate forecasting digital transformation as well as new and adaptation to climate change. statutory and political assignments to At the same time, we intend to intensify ensure that we can successfully fulfil our international commitments and our legal mandate today and tomorrow. networking – for example in data acquisition, in weather and climate For this reason, we have asked research and in strengthening resili- ourselves the following questions: ence to natural disasters. how might the world change during the next decade, and what must we do Achieving these objectives depends on in order to continue fulfilling our duty our ability to continue attracting skilled to protect life and property and produce and committed employees. We are in economic benefits? competition for the ‘brightest minds’ – nationally and internationally. On the following pages, we present We know full well that, despite our the Deutscher Wetterdienst’s most exciting tasks, we will only be perceived important strategic objectives for the as an attractive employer if we cultivate period 2020–2030 as our response a corporate culture of respect, esteem to these questions about the future. and open communication which fosters We have considered how we can use diversity. Our new guiding principles new technologies in the future to meet are committed to the goal of achieving expectations for more systematic just that. observation and measurement of the „Weather and climate know no borders. To an increasing weather in Germany and globally. extent, this is equally true for and all the tasks Our aim is to take entirely new and services it involves. This is why co-operation at all research approaches and to assume international levels has become indispensable to the National Meteorological or Hydrological Services. I am very pleased a leading global position in producing that the new strategy of the Deutscher Wetterdienst promotes accurate weather forecasts several Prof. Dr Gerhard Adrian even greater international co-operation.“ days in advance. One particular focus President of the Deutscher Wetterdienst Petteri Taalas will be on forecasting very small-scale Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and especially hazardous weather 2 3 The DWD‘s Guiding Principles

The Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) is

∙ anchored in Germany‘s constitution

∙ established as a federal authority and

∙ legitimised by federal law Values Our work is permeated by respectful co-operation with others, proactive responsibility for the work assigned to us, and appreciation of the role of change as a permanent element of our development and a prerequisite for Vision Mission the future. The DWD is an innovative meteoro- As the Federal Republic of Germany’s logical and climatological service which meteorological and climatological Our management culture is shaped by provides products and services based service, we stand for high levels of intense knowledge sharing, a culture on advanced scientific and operational quality, reliability and sustainability. of open information and principles expertise, addresses present and future We use analyses, forecasts and which enable employees to reconcile challenges and offers solutions in projections to describe the impact the demands of work, family and response. of meteorological and climatological personal needs. processes, including climate change. We answer questions on the weather We operate a high-performance We communicate with others in search and climate. meteorological infrastructure for of solutions. Open-mindedness and

this purpose. a respectful and critical discourse are We are confident about the value of our sought and valued. work for society as a whole. We are actively engaged in the pursuit of new knowledge. Our strength lies in achieving more by We are passionate about our technical working together across the board and and scientific assignments and the We use modern digital technologies borders without any preconceptions pursuit of new knowledge. to provide the meteorological and and by accepting difference and climatological services our customers We make committed and recognised diversity. and parent/mandating authorities need contributions in co-operation with to take informed decisions. Our expertise and qualifications are a diverse range of national and actively developed, complement each international partners around the We co-operate with our national and other in teamwork and promote the world. international partners on the basis work of the DWD as a whole. of professional expertise, mutual confidence and trust.

4 5 The DWD’s Strategy 2020–2030

In order for the DWD to fulfil its legal mandate, we must press ahead with research and technological develop- ments in various areas, at the national level and in close co-operation with our A future full of challenges as amended in 2017, mandates us to international partners. We must also deliver public meteorological services adapt the communication of climate Drier and hotter summers with more to protect life and property and safe- and weather information to the needs heavy rainfall events are a threat to our guard key sectors of infrastructure in of our customers and society‘s changing population, damage our infrastructure Germany. Our mission is to engage in information culture. This also applies and are detrimental for agriculture research and offer advice on climate with regard to our responsibility as across large stretches of Europe. change and its impacts. an employer. The DWD’s regular annual press con- ference in is an opportunity In other words, the DWD‘s task is for broad, national media coverage to provide dependable support to of issues, such as extreme weather Germany and – within the framework events, climate change adaptation and of international co-operation – the services for the protection of life and international community in this period property. These examples demonstrate of rapid change. In this context, we eloquently how technical and scientific supply all our data free of charge to issues, such as climate change or the the Federation, the federal states and predictability of severe weather, as well the local and district authorities, which as advances in information and data require this information in order to technology are now enmeshed with fulfil their tasks in the fields of disaster action at all levels of society and with control, civil and environmental the building of resilient communities. protection. We also offer most of our data free of charge to the general These three challenges – scientific, public at www.dwd.de/opendata and technical and social – in a world of in the Geoportal for spatial data accelerating change are the context of Germany‘s national spatial data in which the DWD operates. The infrastructure (www.geoportal.de). Deutscher Wetterdienst Act (DWDG), 6 7 The ten lines of development in the Strategy 2020–2030

Our key task is to monitor the weather and the climate, to issue warnings in good time and to offer relevant advice. The challenge in this case lies in the technical recording and most precise scientific description possible of an extreme breadth of different atmospheric processes on all temporal and spatial scales. This information must then be processed and commu- We therefore face a future full of com- intelligently processed and transformed nicated in a way that is useful for plex, challenging and fascinating tasks. into information and knowledge. This users. The macro and micro aspects Our response is to concentrate all information must be made intuitively of weather and climate interact with our energies and focus our Strategy understandable and be communicated each other in space and time, beginning 2020–2030 on ten lines of development to our customers and the general public with small-scale thunderstorm cells, which will be critical in the next in a diverse range of products. The for example, right through to large- decade. One part naturally concerns remaining lines of development concern scale seasonal weather cycles and the the scientific and technological our future challenges as an employer, process of climate change over production of increasingly complex whereby the DWD is fortunate in being a period of decades. weather and climate services. Another very popular, particularly among highly part concentrates on how the growing qualified professionals, precisely flood of data in which this will result because it engages in interesting work – quite literally ‘big data’ – can be of great relevance to society at large.

8 9 First port of call for weather and climate

10 11 1. Data acquisition in the future On a global scale, this concerns the worldwide network of measurement The worldwide meteorological obser- stations hosted for the World vation system, to which the DWD Meteorological Organization (WMO), makes a substantial contribution, of which our observation network has to capture all these processes as forms a part. New ground-based seamlessly and in as much detail as remote sensing systems, which the current state of the art permits. produce a far more precise image of The precision with which weather can the three-dimensional structure of the be forecast and the climate predicted atmosphere, will become increasingly depends on the exactness of the avail- important. Our weather radar stations able data on the current state of the have played a key role over many years global ‘weather brew’. Our strategic and four more radar stations will close data acquisition line of development the existing gaps in the network by therefore focuses on the future of 2025. This concerns the metropolitan observing systems. regions of Bremen, , and the Upper Rhine valley.

We are responsible for setting up the international Integrated Carbon ©Eumetsat Observation System (ICOS), which uses state-of-the-art observation technology to detect CO₂ emissions and other greenhouse gases, such as methane. Data from various observing systems, including satellite data, are merged in a single data set and used, for example, in the Integrated Global Greenhouse Gas Monitoring System (ITMS).

12 13 The DWD is improving its advisory 2. Leading centre for very short-range services by intensifying its co-operation and short-range forecasts in Europe with external partners who operate their own observation systems, such In order to position the DWD as a highly as in hydrology, i.e. the monitoring of effiin wahr frcsig servic water in the ground, rivers, etc. There in the future, we need to continue are also new and promising forms of developing our models and processes crowdsourcing, in which citizens supply to close most of the gaps which exist data themselves – for example via our in the first 48 hours between the WarnWetter app for weather warnings various components of forecasting – or sensors installed in vehicles are systems. This applies in particular to used. Nonetheless, sources such as the intersection between the actual these also require new forms of data data from the observing network to the management and quality assurance. first forecast period based on numerical weather models. The SINFONY project Summer heat waves can be hazardous will create a seamless transition to health, particularly in urban agglom- between the actual state and the first erations. Urban climate stations are model forecasts. This data set will therefore becoming increasingly be used to develop new innovative important in addition to our climate products for key customers in order reference stations. Preventive health to meet the needs of weather-sensitive care is also supported by a pollen count customers, particularly in the fields of measuring network and by a pollen civil protection and disaster control forecast service which is currently or the transport and energy sectors. under development.

This strategic line of development also includes securing and digitalising valuable historical climate data.

14 15 3. Further development of climate and environment services

Climate change is a global phenom- enon. This means that the DWD must continue to forge closer inter- national links as part of its climate and environment services line of development. The relevant Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) was adopted at the World Climate Conference-3 in Geneva.

Our legal mandate also includes making a key contribution to the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (DAS). Local, district and regional authorities, federal states, the agricultural sector, the water and energy sectors and many other areas of society need our scientifically based and dependable advice, for example about whether a region needs to 4. Aeronautical meteorological services the summer. Upper airspace is affected prepare for more heavy rainfall or as ‘European player’ by turbulence, aircraft icing and periods of drought. In this context, volcanic ash. we provide national advice in the Ever denser air traffi i puttin German Climate Service (DKD) partner increasing strain on the airspace We have therefore committed one network and make our products over Germany and Europe. Since the line of development explicitly to aero- available in the Federation’s Climate late 1990s, the European Union has nautical meteorological services. We Preparedness Portal (KliVo-Portal). consequently been working within supply a comprehensive meteorological the framework of the Single European data set which enables airports to Sky (SES) initiative to co-ordinate the improve their operational management. management of air traffi oe Europ We exercise international commitments more effiinl. Eteey bs larg within the framework of SES and collab- airports present growing challenges, orative actions for renovation of global particularly for the DWD as the desig- air traffi sses udr te aegi nated aeronautical meteorological of the ICAO. The aim is to work with service provider in Germany. Airport other European meteorological services operations are critically affected to offer harmonised aeronautical by snow and ice in the winter and by meteorological services. thunderstorms and heavy rainfall in 16 17 5. Seamless prediction: forecasts and Among all models used, the central projections on all temporal scales model system will be the newly launched ICON weather and climate The DWD is networking with model. In order to describe processes international research institutions in the atmosphere as realistically as to advance weather and climate possible, it is essential to understand technology and science by building their close interaction with the oceans, an integrated prediction chain for all ground and large frozen surfaces. temporal scales. This is referred to ICON will therefore be established as internationally as ‘seamless prediction’. the core of comprehensive earth system The aim is to eliminate gaps between modelling in Germany. actual weather observations, short- term weather forecasts extrapolated Model-based regional reanalysis is from them (nowcasting), very short- growing in importance with regard to and medium-range weather forecasts, the climate data for previous decades monthly and seasonal forecasts, decadal in Germany. For this purpose, we use climate forecasts for several decades numerical weather models which are and long-term climate projections. In capable of calculating a full 3-dimen- this context, we use our own SINFONY sional image of past weather, i.e. the and ICON systems as well as products climate, from the archived grid-point from the European Centre for Medium- measurement data from weather Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). stations.

The implementation of the concept of seamless predictions calls for substantial investments in IT infra- structure – from our supercomputer through to the technical delivery systems for our customers.

18 19 6. Digital data policy

The political aim of an open data policy is what determines our actions while we continue to be the primary source for meteorological and climatological data and products. Top priority is given to the provision of services for the protection of life and property, such as disaster control, civil and environmental protection, as well as the securing of important infrastructures.

Big data and user-friendly customer service are highly important. The KliVo portal includes an interface to the German Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change for the supply of climate information and services. Communication media are focused 7. Internationalisation of the includes playing a central role in the primarily on providing the general meteorological infrastructure and ongoing development of the WMO public with important digital warning services Information System (WIS). and weather information. The weather and climate are global New technical developments mean We also co-operate with European phenomena. This means that close that the network of international and global partners to process large international co-operation between co-operation with a diverse range of volumes of data with new technologies national meteorological services is partners needs to be expanded. This and supply information tailored to absolutely essential. This co-operation includes initiatives within the European our customers’ requirements. In this is co-ordinated by the WMO. Func- Union, such as the Earth observation way, we support the free and global tioning as one of its World Meteoro- programme COPERNICUS, through exchange of data in compliance with logical Centre (WMC), we support other which we are improving our products European and international standards. member states with global information, and services and enhancing the DWD’s from weather forecasts through to international profile. decadal climate forecasts. We also hold international responsibility As a WMC, we also supply regional data for providing intensive support to as well as information in the event of developing and newly industrialised both nuclear and non-nuclear incidents. countries whose resources are limited. This strategic line of development

20 21 8. Closer links with the scientific community

The key challenges for the DWD are research and development in meteor- ology and climatology. Even a large national meteorological service such as ours can only be successful in this regard if it works closely with scientific partners. For this reason, we engage in transdisciplinary co-operation and take active part in large-scale national and international programmes.

One particular national success story is the Hans Ertel Centre for Weather 9. Agile and digital administration 10. Future-oriented corporate culture Research, in which we work closely with a variety of academic research Within our organisation, we are con- With our scientific and technical orien- institutions. The sustained consolidation fronted with the challenges which tation and highly qualified employees, and ongoing development of initiatives arise from a dynamic and technologic- we are optimally equipped to success- such as these is therefore an important ally disruptive world of work. For this fully master the challenges of the element of this strategic line of devel- reason, we are combining this line of future. A culture of respect and esteem opment. One focus of international development with a digital agenda. for others, open communication and co-operation is the goal of ‘seamless The aim is to enable increasingly the willingness to engage in ongoing prediction’ explained above. mobile and individually determined learning are important prerequisites work with the support of an agile for achieving this aim. With these digital administrative system. competences, our goal is to remain an attractive employer.

22 23 Publishing details Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) Press and Public Relations Text and editing: Uwe Kirsche Layout: Maria Carvalho Picture copyrights: DWD, Eumetsat Printed by the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI)

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E-mail: [email protected] DWD 1st edition 1000 / 05.19