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Hydrological Assembly

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​According to the Regulation 26 of the WMO, in each session of Congress an open committee of Congress, entitled the WMO Hydrological Assembly, shall be convened. It should be attended as a rule by the Hydrological Advisers of Members (in accordance with Regulation 5 (b)) and by other repre​sentatives of National Hydrological Services or other national hydrological agencies as designated by Members.
T​he Hydrological Assembly is a key forum for hydrologists representing Members to make recommendations to Congress and relevant constituent bodies on matters related to hydrology including but not limited to Article 2(e) of the Convention, and influence the strategic direction of the whole organization by articulating needs, identifying gaps and setting priorities from the perspective of operational hydrology.
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​The Hydrological Assembly shall focus on:

  • Contributing to the integration of hydrology in WMO activities;
  • Mobilizing the operational hydrological community to participate in WMO governing bodies at all levels;
  • Advising the heads of Congress delegations on emerging hydrological issues as well as on their consideration within the governing structures of WMO;
  • Motivating Governments to improve the integration of weather, water and climate topics on national and regional levels., etc.

The Hydrological Assembly shall:

  • Advise regional associations, technical commissions, the Research Board, and other relevant bodies, as appropriate;
  • Facilitate, together with Regional Associations, the exchange and uptake of experience, technology, research, education and training to meet the needs of Members regarding operational hydrology and its application to water resources management.
  • Evaluate the representation of hydrology and water resources management specialists in the WMO Expert Network and propose remedial measures should gaps in professional, geographical or gender representation be found;
  • Encourage hydrologists to stand for election for officers' positions in the technical commissions, and propose candidates for the chairs of hydrology-related standing committees and study groups of technical commissions. The final selection is the responsibility of the commissions concerned;
  • Advise Congress on current and emerging scientific and technical water-related challenges so as to better reflect them in Congress decisions and in further development of the WMO Strategic Plan;
  • Advise Congress on representati​on of hydrological expertise in the technical commissions and the Research Board;
  • Promote a culture of compliance with WMO regulatory material regarding hydrology in NMHSs;
  • Encourage among Members the implementation of WMO directives related to hydrology; 



Tentative Work Plan  - PDF English version​​ - PDF Fren​ch version ​ - Spanish version - PDF Chinese version - 

                                       PDF Russian version

Time
 Agenda Item
 Presentations
Friday 26 May

9:00-9:10
  1. Opening of the session, adoption of the agenda and organization of work
9:10-9:30
  1. Election of officers: Chair and Vice-Chair of the Hydrological Assembly
    2.
9:30-10:30
  1. Setting the scene: WMO Vision and Strategy for Hydrology and its related Plan of Action
  • Dialog on prioritization of activities of Plan of Action for upcoming financial period
  • Global State of the Water Resources report 2022 and further: guidance on priorities
  • Proposed updated terms of reference for the Hydrological Coordination Panel (HCP)
10:30-11:30
  1. Report on activities of SERCOM and INFCOM by ​the Standing Committee on Hydrological Services (SC-HYD) and the Joint Expert Team on Hydrological Monitoring (JET-HYDMON) (Chairs) particular focus on:
    2.
  • Call for WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS) hydrological centers
  • WIS 2.0 and implications for the WMO Hydrological Observing System (WHOS) 
  • Collaboration with UN Agencies (e.g., FAO, UNECE, UNEP and UNESCO)
  • Items related to hydrology already presented to Congress.
11:30-12:00
  1. Outcomes and follow-ups from  United Nations 2023 Water Conference (including EW4All) and the WMO contribution to the Water and Climate Coalition (WCC)
    2.
12:00-14:00
 Lunch
14:00-15:30
  1. Ongoing and planned hydrological extrabudgetary projects
  • Flash Flood Guidance System with Global Coverage (FFGS), Volta Flood and Drought Management, Central Asia early warning systems, World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS), national assessments, the Global Hydrological Status and Outlook System (HydroSOS) in Bangladesh-Nepal, etc.
  1. HydroSOS proposed standard products
    2.
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15:30-17:00
  1. Discussion of Cg-19/Doc. 4
    2.
  • Plan of Action update modalities
  • Hydrological representation in WMO Governing bodies
  • HydroSOS regional implementation plans
  • Statement on the role of hydrology in WMO
  1. Proposed composition of HCP

Saturday 27 May
9:00-10:00
  1. Presentation of the Hydrological Status and Outlook System (HydroSOS)
    2.
10:00-10:45
  1. The Global Hydrometry Support Facility (HydroHub)
    2.
10:45-11:30
  1. The role of water resources management in the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystems Nexus
    2.
11:30-12:00
  1. The Global Basic Observing Network (GBON) progress: future expansion to hydrology and the Rolling Review of Requirements (RRR)
    2.
12:00-13:30
 Lunch (Google Flood Forecasting Initiative, myDewetra and GEOGloWS presentations​ 12:00 to 13:00)
13:30-15:00
  1. Regional parallel sessions chaired by the Regiona​l Hydrological Adviser (RHA)
15:00-15:30
  1. Women hydrologists empowerment – statement and discussion
    2.
15:30-16:00
  1. EW4All contributions: Associated Programme on Flood Management (APFM), Integrated Drought Management Programme (IDMP), FFGS, WHYCOS, WHOS, WIPPS and other extrabudgetary projects 
    2.
16:00-17:00
  1. Panel discussion on “Hydrology within the Earth System approach to achieve EW4All”, moderated by C/HA (HCP), with WMO President, P/INFCOM, P/SERCOM and C/RB, P/RAs and RHAs​
    2.
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