The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF, the Centre) is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by 34 States.

The principal objectives of the Centre are:

1. a) Development and operation of global models and data-assimilation systems for the dynamics, thermodynamics and composition of the Earth's fluid envelope and interacting parts of the Earth-system, with a view to:
   1. preparing forecasts by means of numerical methods;
   2. providing initial conditions for the forecasts; and
   3. contributing to monitoring the relevant parts of the Earth-system;
2. b) carrying out scientific and technical research directed towards improving the quality of these forecasts;
3. c) collection and storage of appropriate data.

In addition, the Centre:

• makes available to the Member States, in the most appropriate form, the results provided for in (a) and (b) and the data referred to in (c)   
• assists in implementing programmes of the World Meteorological Organization;
• provides advanced training to the scientific staff of the Member and Co-operating States in the field of numerical weather prediction;
• makes the data in its extensive archives available to outside bodies.

• < The Center for Information Services and High Performance Computing (ZIH)
• The University of Jyvaskyla, Department of Physics >