ITU and WMO urge spectrum protection to keep weather forecasts and warnings reliable

ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin described preventing harmful interference as a matter of public safety that can save lives, linking interference-free spectrum to accurate forecasts, timely emergency warnings and dependable climate records.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are calling on governments, regulators and meteorologists to protect this essential resource, warning that disruption can weaken the information used for emergency alerts, climate monitoring and water management. Their appeal accompanies a new joint handbook explaining how radio spectrum supports these services and what is needed to safeguard it as demand for wireless connectivity and satellite services grows.

The frequencies behind forecasts and early warnings

The new handbook, Use of Radio Spectrum for Meteorology: Weather, Climate, Water and Related Environmental Applications, provides updated guidance on the use and protection of frequencies supporting critical meteorological systems. These systems observe the atmosphere, oceans and land, carrying data that forecasters and public authorities depend on to assess conditions and issue life-saving warnings. Reliable access to spectrum helps keep those observations available for everyday forecasting and the longer records needed to understand climate patterns, with practical implications for communities preparing for environmental hazards.

Some satellite instruments detect extremely weak signals that occur naturally at specific frequencies, which makes interference a serious concern for the quality of their measurements. As WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained, the frequency bands used for these observations are determined by the physical properties of the atmosphere, rather than by an operator's preference. Certain observations cannot be obtained at other frequencies, making protection of those bands essential. Treating spectrum as a finite natural resource means recognising that meteorological instruments cannot simply move to another band and deliver the same information.

Interference can put vital environmental data at risk

Radio-frequency interference can reduce both the accuracy and availability of environmental data, affecting the information governments and communities use to prepare for and respond to dangerous conditions. ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin described preventing harmful interference as a matter of public safety that can save lives, linking interference-free spectrum to accurate forecasts, timely emergency warnings and dependable climate records. The concern reaches beyond individual instruments: decisions about spectrum access can influence whether essential observations remain reliable when people need them.

Weather radar, lightning location systems, aircraft and marine observations, and hydrological monitoring systems also depend on radio frequencies to collect or exchange information. Protecting those connections supports a broad observation network covering weather, water and the wider environment. Growing demand for wireless communications, satellite services and environmental data places greater pressure on spectrum management, making coordination between regulators, meteorologists and the radiocommunication community increasingly important for maintaining access to frequencies used for Earth observation.

Geneva seminar brings spectrum decisions into focus

The handbook was formally released at the opening of the Global ITU-WMO Seminar on Spectrum Use for Meteorology: Challenges, Opportunities, and Evolving Requirements, taking place at ITU headquarters in Geneva from 28 to 30 September 2026. Experts at the event are reviewing recent and upcoming international spectrum decisions relevant to meteorological and Earth observation services, including outcomes of the latest ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences. By bringing technical, operational and regulatory guidance into one resource, the publication supports informed spectrum-management decisions and closer cooperation between the people responsible for environmental observations and those managing the frequencies that make them possible.