CGMS-39 took place in St. Petersburg, Russia, on 3-7 October, and was hosted by the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, Roshydromet.

The report includes actions and recommendations resulting from the meeting. The main outcomes of CGMS-39 were:

• Agreement by all CGMS agencies on an updated baseline for the space component of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Global Observing System (GOS), reflecting a major step towards the WMO Vision for the Global Observing System in 2025;
• Support for the proposed definition of a space-based architecture for climate monitoring for which CGMS members agreed to identify their potential contributions. At the latest WMO Congress (Cg-XVI), it was agreed to define and implement an international architecture that ensures delivery of satellite observations for climate monitoring. This architecture should cover timeframes required for analysis of the Earth’s climate system in order to meet policy and user-service needs. CGMS is therefore a relevant stakeholder in the definition process of such an architecture;
• To consider developing standards for direct read-out in the X-band for future polar-orbiting satellites; and
• Agreement to coordinate their efforts in terms of collision avoidance and future plans for space weather observations.

The next session of the CGMS plenary meeting will be hosted by WMO in Switzerland on 5-9 November 2012.

About CGMS

CGMS is a forum through which independent satellite agencies’ plans are harmonised to meet common mission objectives and produce compatible data and products from meteorological satellites for users around the world.

Please visit the CGMS website for more information.

CGMS and EUMETSAT

Upon joining CGMS in 1987, EUMETSAT took on the role of CGMS secretariat on behalf of its members. EUMETSAT is responsible for organising the annual CGMS plenary session with the support of a local host, which is a CGMS member designated on a rotating basis. Between sessions of the annual CGMS plenary, the secretariat is also in charge of facilitating communication between CGMS members and of following up actions agreed during CGMS plenary sessions. Finally, the CGMS secretariat represents CGMS members in a number of international bodies, including WMO, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) and its related Earth Observation International Coordination Working Group (EO-ICWG), the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), and the Space Frequency Coordination Group (SFCG).

CGMS was reconfirmed as an important forum for international partnership in the recently approved and updated EUMETSAT strategy. It will continue to be the forum for developing technical coordination activities with other meteorological satellite operators and coordinate the Global Space-based Inter-Calibration System (GSICS).

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