Brussels
A TRANSATLANTIC row over weather data is threatening forecasts.
Disagreements between weather services in the US and Europe over access to data
were supposed to have been settled by an international agreement last June, but
the US claims Europe is breaking the deal.
Traditionally, national weather services have freely exchanged meteorological
observations, because they all need each other鈥檚 data to make reliable
forecasts. Trouble arose in the 1980s when European governments asked their
weather services to cover part of their costs by charging for certain
information, such as detailed forecasts for sports events.
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The US National Weather Service, on the other hand, is forbidden to charge
more than the cost of copying and transmitting the data. This means that private
American forecasting companies can obtain European data from the US weather
service, then sell forecasts cheaply on the European market, undercutting
Europe鈥檚 own national weather services.
European governments had threatened to stop releasing data abroad unless this
practice stopped. At the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) meeting in
Geneva last year, national weather services agreed to keep trading data freely
among themselves. But they can ask for the commercial export of certain
expensive data to be restricted (This Week, 24 June 1995, p 10).
This month, Ecomet, the association of weather services in the European
Union, Norway and Iceland, submitted its 鈥済uidelines鈥� for the use of such
restricted data to the WMO. The guidelines forbid any commercial export of
European data unless the exporter has made a deal with the Europeans. They also
ban the transmission of the data by radio and satellite, claiming this would
make it available for commercial use.
Joe Friday, head of the US weather service, says Ecomet is 鈥済oing well beyond
last year鈥檚 agreement鈥�. The US Weather Service broadcasts all its data to its
field offices by satellite, enabling companies to listen in. Ecomet鈥檚 guidelines
would ban this practice. 鈥淭he WMO agreement put no restriction on the use of
data within the receiving country, only on its re-export,鈥� he says.
Arne Grammel-Tvedt, head of Norway鈥檚 weather service and current chair of
Ecomet, insists the guidelines do not violate the WMO agreement. 鈥淧erhaps the
wording could be clearer,鈥� he admits. Ecomet will meet in Reykjavik in May to
decide whether changes are needed.