World Bank Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo

Hydromet Services
Modernizing weather, climate, and hydrological hazards.

Solutions Brief
FEBRUARY 2017

The experience of Japan in identifying, predicting,and managing the risks posed by hydrometeorological hazards, oﬀers key lessons for thedeveloping countries to modernize their hydrometsystems.

Hydromet hazards: posing risk to lives
and livelihoods globally
Hydrological and meteorological (“hydromet”)
hazards—such as storms, floods, droughts, and heatand cold waves—are responsible for the greatest
proportion of losses from adverse natural events
globally, causing nearly 80% of disasters and over50% of disaster-related deaths from 1980 and2011.
A lack of technical capacity and delivery
capability needed to provide eﬀective service
are key challenges many developing countries
face. However, well-prepared and well-resourcedhydromet services can help in minimizing thedisruptions caused by natural hazards, by providing
warning to governments and communities inadvance of events. Additionally, resources such as
flood hazard maps can help guide reconstruction
eﬀorts after disaster strikes.
Japan is a global leader in identifying, predicting,and managing the risks posed by hydrometeorological hazards. Domestically, the Ministryof Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism(MLIT)’s Water and Disaster Management Bureau
and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) areamong the most sophisticated agencies in theworld in their field, providing critical services
to the Japanese public and private industry.
Internationally, JICA is a world leader supporting
investments to build the capacity of developing
countries in this area, often working andcoordinating with the World Bank.

A knowledge base to enable natural
disaster preparednessTo support the needs of developing countries inestablishing a modernized hydromet service, theJapan - World Bank Program for Mainstreaming
Disaster Risk Management in Developing Countries
commissioned two comprehensive background papers
and a related summary report.
These reports:• Contribute to a growing knowledge base on
how to avoid uncoordinated investments in thehydrological and meteorological services sector;• Outline some lessons learned from Japan’s
experience in modernizing hydromet services,in terms of changes in legal and institutionalarrangements over time, advances in technology,
and the reforming influence of major naturaldisasters;• Provide a foundation for policymakers, decisionmakers, and other stakeholders to understand thefundamental elements of weather, climate, andhydrological services in Japan;• Support eﬀorts to map priorities for potential
international cooperation for developing countries
in modernizing their national meteorological andhydrological services (NMHSs); and• Describe the role of regional and global structuresand frameworks such as the World MeteorologicalOrganizations (WMO) and the Global Framework for
Climate Services within the hydromet space.

Modernizing hydromet services indeveloping countries: lessons from theJapanese experience
Japan has one of the world’s more advanced hydromet
services programs. The country’s experience oﬀers
some historical perspectives on choices developing
countries can make when embarking on their own
hydromet service development eﬀorts. Its model is an
example of a modern system with strong government
involvement and institutional governance.
Additionally, Japan’s comprehensive multi-hazard
approach that covers weather, climate, ocean-related,
and terrestrial services has been developed overthe course of more than a century, and applied andrefined after disaster events such as the 2011 Great
East Japan Earthquake, strong typhoon landfalls, andvolcanic eruption.
Using a three-component framework for large-scale
modernization, the reports support developing
countries seeking to undertake: (i) institutional
strengthening; (ii) the modernization of systems; and(iii) enhanced service delivery. Toward these goals,
key lessons from Japan’s experience include:
1. The modernization of hydromet services requires
long-term step-by-step eﬀorts, which should beanchored to well-defined medium- and long-term
strategies.
Hydromet strategies should take into consideration
science and technology, as well as available
financial and human resources. Thorough strategicplanning is a continuous and iterative process.
Special attention should be paid to opportunities toreexamine and revise these strategies immediately
after major disasters, as such events usually oﬀer
valuable lessons on gaps in systems or services. If
funding support for NMHSs comes from multiple
sources, well-defined strategies should also facilitate
coordination among donors.

L2. Legal and regulatory frameworks should
clearly define the roles and resp onsibilities
of NMHSs, as well as those of public and private
sector stakeholders who provide meteorological,hydrological, and early warning services.
Eﬀective early warning systems require good
coordination among stakeholders, clearly definedroles and responsibilities, and streamlined
operational procedures to ensure timely deliveryof actionable messages to all residents at risk, andto avoid multiple and contradicting warnings. To
promote these eﬀective systems, national law(s)should clearly define the NMHSs as the single
authoritative voice for warning services, and eﬀectiveregulatory framework and standard operational
procedures should be in place.
3. The design and development of hydrologicalregulatory frameworks in developing countries
should be fully aligned with, and where possible
fully included within, integrated water resourcesmanagement (IWRM).
In Japan, hydrological services have evolved as anintegral part of IWRM. IWRM is a target of the United
Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal to ensure
access to water and sanitation, and is being enhanced
through a river basin approach around the world.
4. Sound meteorological, seismic, and hydrologicalobservation and data management systems are a
prerequisite for any associated services. An open data
policy supports broader use of these systems, as wellas higher value data for communities.
Maintaining and operating robust, sustainable,
quality-assured, and user-oriented observation
systems are critical for successful hydromet services.
Observation systems should use instrumentswith a high degree of traceability within national,regional, and global meteorological and hydrologicalcommunities, and with adequate maintenancemechanisms in place.

In Japan, the Meteorological Agency has establisheddata sharing arrangements through the Japan
Meteorological Business Support Center to facilitateand ensure the broader use of meteorological andhydrological data. The Foundation of River & Basin
Integrated Communications uses data from the RiverAuthorities.
5. A backup of hydrology and meteorology systemsand-services hub is essential for business continuity.
In modern NMHSs, it is important to have a level ofredundancy in systems to ensure the functioning ofemergency services (such as typhoon warnings) andsome aviation services at a minimum.
This dual form of redundancy is extremely eﬀective
in case of earthquake, fire, power loss, pandemic, orother disaster. In developing countries, there should
be a geographically separated “second” services
center that can operate the most basic emergency
services. This should include duplicative observations,
ICT, and minimal services for “hot” rapid activation.
6. User-oriented, risk-based, and seamless early warning
services should be established and advanced in close
cooperation with relevant authorities and the public.
Maintaining and testing institutional arrangements iskey to an eﬀective hydromet service.
Some disasters result from a complex combinationof numerous natural hazard events. Thus,eﬀective preparation and management requires
a comprehensive multi-hazard approach throughcollaboration with multiple stakeholders, including
water authorities, disaster management agencies,and local government.

H7. It is imperative to maintain a strong collaboration
with local emergency first responders and the public.
This “last mile” is critical to the success of the early
warning systems.
At the local level, it is imperative to strengtheninteractions with local governments and the public.
Early action is generally not ensured just by issuing
warnings and associated information, nor by themanagement of the government authorities, butinstead through strong coordination with first
responders and communities. This is an importantlesson for emerging NMHSs.
For example, Japan’s NMHSs classify events in termsof danger levels corresponding to recommended
actions to be taken by municipalities and residents
when an advisory, early warning, or emergency
warning is issued. They further encouragemunicipalities and the public to promptly respondto those advisories and warnings, which may changewith the evolving stages of severe weather events, incooperation with the relevant authorities.
8. User needs should define the modernization ofhydromet services.
The modernization of hydromet services in Japan has
been largely driven by evolving user needs, be it forflood management, water use planning, navigation,transport, agriculture, energy, or early warning forhydromet hazards.
Meteorological and hydrological information is only
socioeconomically valuable when users understandand utilize information to make decisions andtake action. Moreover, user needs should define
the scope and type of services needed to provide
this information, as well as minimum qualityrequirements.

Looking forward
As a follow on to these two in-depth reports
exploring Japan’s experience in hydromet services
modernization, future studies could examine:• Valuable parallels and additional lessons fromthe experiences of other countries with advanced,
modernized hydromet systems;• A particular challenge faced by developing
countries from a lack of little observed data
to exchange, which aﬀects all aspects ofmeteorological and hydrological service delivery;• The challenges countries such as Japan face when
the national meteorological service and nationalhydrological service operate separately, leading tomultiple organizations requiring coordination; and• The coordination of donors for hydromet services
as modernization eﬀorts proceed. Mechanisms
such as those of the WMO and certain NMHSs areeﬀective in modernizing NMHSs in developing
countries and may oﬀer critical lessons.

Additional resources
Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery(GFDRR), The World Bank “Modernization of Japan's
Hydromet Services: A Report on Lessons Learned forDisaster Risk Management” (2016).
Japan Meteorological Business Support Center(JMBSC), “Review of Japanese Meteorological andHydrological Services and Lessons for DevelopingCountries: Meteorological Component” (2016).
Foundation of River & Basin Integrated
Communications, Japan (FRICS), “Review ofHydrological Services in Japan and Lessons forDeveloping Countries” (2016). Each paper stands
alone in its value to operational and policy clients.
David P. Rogers and Vladimir V. Tsirkunov, Weather
and Climate Resilience: Eﬀective Preparedness
through National Meteorological and HydrologicalServices (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013)

The Japan-World Bank Program for Mainstreaming Disaster Risk Management (DRM)
helps developing countries drive large-scale investment to increase their disaster
resilience. Through the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, theWorld Bank DRM Hub in Tokyo connects officials, practitioners, and development
professionals with leading Japanese and global DRM expertise and solutions.

Contact:
World Bank Disaster Risk Management Hub, Tokyo
Phone: +81-3-3597-1320
Email: drmhubtokyo@worldbank.org
Website: http://www.worldbank.org/drmhubtokyo