Region IV: North America, Central America, the Caribbean

The region's geographical extent and great diversity include ecosystems from the Arctic to the equator, such as tropical forests, islands, deserts, snow-covered landscapes and high mountains, representing a wide range of weather, water, and climate challenges.
An aerial view of a small island in the ocean.
Islet of Santa Cruz Island in the middle of the sea, in the background the island of Tintipan seen from the air in the archipelago of San Bernardo near the Rosario Islands in Cartagena, Colombia.
Adobe Stock Jhampier Giron

The WMO Region IV comprises 27 Members that fall within the scope of the WMO Regional Office for the Americas (RAM), which are served through the Representative Office for North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NCAC).

Due to its geographical complexity, the region is highly vulnerable to extreme weather events such as tropical cyclones, droughts, floods, coastal surges, tornadoes and others, all of which are exacerbated by climate change. This situation calls for a multi-hazard early warning system and robust hydrometeorological services.

In terms of socio-economic parameters, WMO Region IV is composed mainly of developing economies many of which are small island developing states, but it also includes large developed countries, and on the opposite side it has least developing countries. This is reflected in the Human Development Index that ranges from very high human development to low human development in the region.

To facilitate the exchange of data and expertise to better prepare the region, the WMO Regional Office for the Americas articulates activities with key partners such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO), the Coordination Centre for the Prevention of Natural Disasters in Central America (CEPREDENAC), the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), the Regional Committee on Hydraulic Resources (CRRH), the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the UN Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), among others. The focus is also on socioeconomic factors to contribute to the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

المشاريع في المنطقة

مشروع

Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA)

Climate extremes are placing growing pressure on water resources, food security, and livelihoods in many developing countries. The 79 Members of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) are among the most vulnerable, yet Member States of the OACPS have contributed least to greenhouse gas emissions.The EU-funded Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications Programme (ClimSA) was established to address these challenges by enhancing the climate services value chain across the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) regions.  ClimSA has brought together eight Regional Climate Centres (RCCs), ten National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) from focus countries, the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), EUMETSAT, the African Union Commission (AUC), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to strengthen climate prediction, data management, and the delivery of actionable climate services.By enhancing the production, translation, and uptake of climate information, the Programme contributes directly to informed decision-making, resilience building, and sustainable development in climate-sensitive sectors. ClimSA supports these efforts through technical assistance, financial support, as well as infrastructure and capacity development.As main users of climate services and the bridge to other final users, the African Regional Economic Communities (RECs), the African Union Commission (AUC), the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO) , and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) are the focus of the programme to ensure sustainability and utilization of climate services.  
مشروع

Flash Flood Guidance System with Global Coverage (FFGS)

Flash floods are among the world’s deadliest natural disasters with more than 5 000 lives lost annually. Their social, economic and environmental impacts are significant. Accounting for approximately 85% of flooding cases, flash floods also have the highest mortality rate among different classes of flooding, including riverine and coastal. Flash floods differ from river floods in their short time scales and occurrence on small spatial scales, which makes flash flood forecasting a different challenge from large-river flood forecasting. In flash floods forecasting, we are concerned mostly with the forecast of occurrence, and focus on two causative events: 1) intense rainfall; and 2) rainfall on saturated soils. Flash floods occur throughout the world, and the development times vary across regions from minutes to several hours depending on the land surface, geomorphological and hydrometeorological characteristics of the region. However, for the majority of these areas, there exists no formal process or capacity for developing flash flood warnings.

مكاتب المنظمة (WMO) في المنطقة

WMO Representative Office for North America, Central America and the Caribbean (NCAC)

Instituto Meteorológico Nacional

3er Piso, frente a Admisiones del Hospital Calderón Guardia, 

Avenida 9, Calle 17, Barrio Aranjuez, 

P.O Box 73350-1000

San José, Costa Rica 

Email: rmartinez@wmo.int