Weather, law, and public-private engagement

Weather laws typically address the establishment and operation of a national meteorological service (NMS), which is usually granted the exclusive right to issue weather warning among other powers. However, the NMS is underfunded in many low- and middle-income countries—which affects its ability to collect the basic observation data needed for weather service provision.

This report breaks new ground by surveying the existing national weather laws and by asking whether the main obstacle to better public-private engagement is the absence or the presence of a national weather law. A key finding is that weather laws alone will usually not be sufficient to promote effective public-private engagement. Just as important are the intellectual property rights (IPRs) in data generated and held by the NMS (usually copyright and database rights) and the extent to which the data policy of the NMS permits the use and re-use of publicly funded weather data by commercial weather service providers.