Valuing Weather and Climate: Economic Assessment of Meteorological and Hydrological Services

For more than a century, nations have equipped themselves to provide weather, climate and hydrological information, forecasts and, more recently, remotely sensed data and early warnings to the public and private sectors. These services, collectively referred to throughout this publication as met/hydro services, have increased the safety and efficiency of land, sea and air transport, helped communities prepare for and respond to extreme weather events, and facilitated improved decisionmaking in weather-sensitive economic sectors. Increasingly, it has become easier for people and businesses to access met/hydro information and products due to advances in the Internet and telecommunications.