Climate Services (CS) Working Group Workshop
- June 24-26, 2025
- Bangkok, Thailand
South Asia is one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world, frequently facing the adverse effects of climate variability and extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, cyclones, and heatwaves. These hazards disproportionately impact key development sectors- including agriculture, water, health, energy, and disaster risk reduction- undermining progress toward sustainable development and threatening regional stability.
In response, the South Asia Hydromet Forum (SAHF) has emerged as a key platform to strengthen regional collaboration on hydrometeorological services. SAHF fosters cooperation among national meteorological and hydrological services (NMHSs), policymakers, and technical institutions, aiming to improve the generation, delivery, and application of climate and weather information across South Asia.
To advance this mission, SAHF has established the Climate Services Working Group (CS WG)- a regional mechanism to enhance cross-border coordination, harmonize data practices, and co-develop climate services that are demand-driven and tailored to user needs. The CS WG is envisioned as a strategic mechanism to link national priorities with regional and global frameworks such as the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), South Asian Climate Outlook Forum (SASCOF), Climate Services User Forums (CSUF), and national monsoon forums- paving the way toward a Regional Framework for Climate Services (RFCS).
The CS WG Inception Meeting will mark the official launch of this initiative and establish the CS WG’s governance structure, define its regional workplan, and initiate targeted technical training. The meeting will be held in a three-day event in conjunction with a Technical Training on Seasonal and Sub-seasonal Forecast Application (S2S).The event is supported through the World Bank-supported Climate Adaptation and Resilience for South Asia (CARE) project, with the training components supporting broader objectives related to institutional coordination and technical capacity building identified as priorities for the SAHF CS WG.
The SAHF Climate Services Workshop aims to:
- Establish the CS WG’s governance structure
- Define the workplan for CS WG
- Align national efforts with regional and global climate service frameworks
- Initiate planning for the co-development of actionable, sector-specific advisory services as part of the CS WG’s mandate
- Contribute to long-term efforts to strengthen the integration of climate information into national and sectoral planning, policy, and early warning systems.
This workshop is a critical step toward operationalizing climate services across South Asia- enabling evidence-based decision-making that protects lives, secures livelihoods, and supports climate-resilient development.
DAY 1: 24th June 2025 Establishing the SAHF CS WG Bangkok, Thailand | 08:30 AM – 05:30 PM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Session | Time | Details | Lead |
| Registration | 08:30 AM – 09:00 AM | ||
| Opening Session | 09:00 AM – 09:15 AM | Welcome remarks and overview of workshop objectives and agenda | Dr. K. J. Ramesh, Advisor (Weather and Climate Services), RIMES Mr. David Corbelli, Senior International Development Manager, UKMO |
| Participants Introduction | 09:15 AM – 09:30 AM | Brief introduction of participants | RIMES |
| WG Governance | 09:30 AM - 10:15 AM | Appointment of Co-chairs, review and endorsement of Terms of Reference (ToR) - SAHF Introduction - SAHF Climate Services and working groups progress - SAHF Climate Services Working Group | CS WG Members/ RIMES |
| Group Photo & Coffee Break | 10:15 AM – 10:45 AM | ||
| Country Presentations: - Overview of Climate - Services in South Asia | 10:45 AM – 12:30 PM | Presentations from countries on the insights of their current status of climate service and application of S2S, seasonal and climate projections - Afghanistan - Bangladesh - Bhutan - India - Maldives - Maldives Moonsun App Intro - Myanmar - Nepal - Pakistan - Sri Lanka | CS WG Members/Country Representatives |
| Open Discussion | 12:30 PM – 13:00 PM | Participants reflection on country presentations, highlighting common challenges, opportunities and priorities for regional collaboration | WG Members/Country Representatives/ User Sector Representatives |
| Lunch Break | 13:00 PM – 14:00 PM | ||
| Interactive Session: - Building on - National/Regional Platforms | 14:00 PM – 15:30 PM | Lessons and linkages from GFCS, SASCOF, CSUF, and National Outlook Forums | Facilitated by RIMES/UKMO |
| Plenary Discussion: Aligning National Insights for the Climate Services Work plan | 15:30 PM – 16:15 PM | Synthesizing inputs to inform CS WG workplan and align with ongoing and planned national initiatives | Facilitated by WG Co-Chairs |
| Coffee Break | 16:15 PM – 16:30 PM | ||
| Preparing draft workplan for the SAHF CS WG | 16:30 PM – 17:30 PM | Workplan prepared based on discussions in above sessions and SAHF EC priority themes: - Enhancing regional coordination - Climate data access and standardization - Stakeholder engagement and capacity development - Resource mobilization and sustainability - Monitoring, evaluation, and workplan implementation | CS WG Members/User Sector Representatives |
DAY 2: 25th June 2025 Technical Brainstorming on the Application of Seasonal and Sub-seasonal Forecast Bangkok, Thailand | 09:00 AM – 05:00 PM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Session | Time | Details | Lead |
| Session Overview | 09:00 AM – 09:15 AM | Recap of Day 1, outline of session objectives and structure | RIMES |
| Session 1: Context Setting | 09:15 AM – 10:30 AM | Application of S2S for Climate Services:points to ponder and practical examples | RIMES |
| Coffee Break | 10:30 PM – 11:00 PM | ||
| Session 2: Interactive Group Work | 11:00 PM – 12:30 PM | Scenario based Decision Guidance Preparation based on S2S | RIMES |
| Lunch Break | 12:30 PM – 13:30 PM | ||
| Session 3: Interactive Group Work | 13:30 PM – 14:30 PM | Sectoral requirements for S2S, challenges associated and possible solutions | RIMES |
| Session 4: Hands on Demonstration | 14:30 PM – 15:30 PM | Climate Services Toolkit and National Livestock Advisory System, Bangladesh | RIMES |
| Coffee Break | 15:30 PM – 16:00 PM | ||
| Discussions and Experience Sharing | 16:00 PM – 17:00 PM | Identifying priorities, immediate and medium term activities for S2S Application Demo | RIMES |
DAY 3: 26th June 2025 Operationalising the SAHF CS WG Bangkok, Thailand | 09:00 AM – 05:00 PM (Bangkok Time, UTC+7) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Session | Time | Details | Lead |
| Recap | 09:00 AM – 09:15 AM | Reflections and framing of action-planning sessions | RIMES/UKMO |
| Regional Climate Modeling and Data Systems | 09:15 AM – 10:30 AM | An overview of regional climate modeling platforms/data systems and their application in delivering demand-driven climate services. The session will explore how projections can be tailored to support user needs across key sectors. - Regional Resilience Data and Analytics Service (RDAS) Platform (15 mins) - Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (CORDEX) (15 mins) - National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF) - Numerical Weather Prediction and Applications (15 mins) - Open Discussion Informing priorities for development and collaboration (15 mins) | RIMES/ Technical Experts |
| Coffee Break | 10:30 PM – 11:00 PM | ||
| Presentation of the Draft Workplan | 11:00 PM – 11:30 PM | WG Co-Chairs will present the draft CS WG workplan, including proposed activities. | WG Co-Chairs |
| Open Discussion: Feedback on the CS Workplan | 11:30 PM – 12:00 PM | Structured feedback session where all participants and development partners will provide inputs to refine the draft workplan | Facilitated by RIMES/UKMO |
| Partner Perspectives: Supporting the SAHF CS WG Priorities | 12:00 PM – 13:00 PM | - Presentation on Overview of WISER AP - Discussion: Other donor and related initiatives that could be leveraged to support the SAHF CS WG priorities - Regional Framework For Climate Services - An Overview | Facilitated by UKMO |
| Lunch Break | 13:00 PM – 14:00 PM | ||
| Plenary: Drafting the implementation plan aligning with regional initiatives | 14:00 PM – 15:30 PM | - Sharing and consolidating outcomes into a draft implementation plan (2025-2026) - Synthesizing inputs to inform CS WG work plan and align with regional initiatives | CS WG members/User Sector Representatives/Participants |
| Coffee Break | 15:30 PM – 16:00 PM | ||
| Finalization of CS WG Workplan & Next Steps | 16:00 PM – 16:30 PM | Confirm actions, governance structure, and coordination mechanisms | CS WG Cochairs/UKMO/RIMES |
| Closing Session | 16:30 PM – 17:00 PM | Remarks- WG Co-Chairs Closing Remarks- RIMES & UKMO | |
