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National weather and hydrology networksA national network, run to the WMO rule book.
A national meteorological and hydrological service needs stations where the gaps are, observations every hour, metadata that tells users how each was made, and an exchange that neighbours and ministries can read. The network is planned, built, calibrated and run as one programme.
Plan a deploymentHow it worksStation Builder- Industry
- Government
- Measurements
- 5
- Sources cited
- 5
Government · National weather and hydrology networks
A country’s eyes on the weather
Forecasts, flood warnings, water allocation and the climate record all start from surface stations. Where stations are missing, warnings are late and records are short. Countries have committed to share a basic set of surface observations, and a national network built as one programme meets that duty and serves every ministry.
What is measured
Weather, rain and rivers
Reference sensors measure air temperature, humidity, pressure, wind and solar radiation at standard exposures. Gauges measure rainfall away from obstructions, and river stations measure level at rated sections so discharge can be computed. Every instrument has its calibration and siting recorded with the station.
- Instruments
- Reference weather sensors · Rain gauges · River level · Station metadata
The base node
Checked at the station
The station node checks every value against physical limits and its neighbours, flags gaps and suspect readings, stores a month of data and attaches the metadata each report needs. Forecasters receive data they can trust, and the station tells the service when it needs a visit.
Radio and links
Reports from anywhere
Most stations report hourly over public cellular networks. Mountain, border and island stations without coverage report by satellite, and clusters of rain gauges reach a hub station over a local low-power network. Each report reaches the national system and the WMO exchange in the same way.
- Links
- Public cellular · Satellite · LoRaWAN
How it works
From a rain gauge to a warning
A storm stalls over a mountain basin. Rain gauges report rising totals, the river station shows the level climbing, and both reach the national system within minutes. Hydrologists run the flood model on checked data, the warning goes out, and neighbours downstream see the same observations through the exchange.
From order to operation · Order
Scope the gaps against national duties
The scope reads the existing network, its gaps against the national and regional commitments, the hazards each basin faces and the service budget. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a station plan by type and place, the exchange design, a calibration plan and a price per station and per year, with the staff the service will need.
Plan a deploymentFrom order to operation · Survey
Survey every candidate site
Crews and service staff visit each candidate site: exposure and obstructions, ground and access, flood marks, land ownership, coverage of the backhaul options and the safety of the place. Each candidate is scored against the siting classes and the best is recorded with photographs and coordinates.
From order to operation · Permits
Land, licences and agreements
Land agreements with owners and communities, radio licences where needed, environmental approvals for river works and permissions for border or protected areas are gathered. Every approval is kept with the station record so the service can show its legal basis.
From order to operation · Build
Build and calibrate in the shop
Station kits are built, every sensor is calibrated against references traceable to national standards, nodes are enrolled with their identities and the complete station runs together for days before it ships. Each kit is labelled with its station identifier. Test results travel with the kit to the site.
Open the Station BuilderFrom order to operation · Install
Install to the siting classes
Crews set masts and gauges at the surveyed positions, mount sensors at standard heights and exposures, fit solar power and backhaul, and photograph each part. River stations get their staff gauges and benchmarks surveyed to the national datum. The site record is updated before the crew leaves.
From order to operation · Commission
Commission against references
Each station proves its identity, readings are compared with a travelling reference, reports reach the national system and the WMO exchange, and the metadata record is completed. The station enters service only when its first week of data passes the checks.
From order to operation · Operate
Run the national network
The service sees every station live: data completeness, flags, power and the next calibration due. Forecasters, hydrologists and climate staff receive the same checked data, neighbours receive it through the WMO exchange, and gaps are visible before they matter. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record.
From order to operation · Maintain
Calibrate, repair and train
Sensors rotate through the calibration laboratory on the agreed plan, crews repair stations after storms and floods, software updates roll out in rings, and service staff are trained to run every task themselves. The register records each change. Spares and procedures travel with the crews.
Book field servicesData products
For forecasters, hydrologists and neighbours
Forecasters and warning services receive hourly observations; hydrologists receive river levels and discharge; climate services receive long homogeneous records; managers and funders receive completeness reports; neighbouring services and global centres receive the national observations through the WMO exchange, each with its station metadata.
See the data productsEvidence
Built to the WMO rule book
Stations are sited and calibrated to the WMO instrument guide, rivers are gauged to the hydrological practice guide, the network meets the global observing commitments and data move through the WMO Information System under the unified data policy. Every reading keeps its calibration and metadata.
- Drawn against
- WMO-No. 1160 · WMO-No. 8 · WMO-No. 168 · WMO-No. 1060 · WMO Unified Data Policy, Resolution 1 (Cg-Ext(2021))
What you get
National observing network programmes
Build-operate-transfer of national observing infrastructure as digital public infrastructure, with transfer of skills and records. Delivered as build-operate-transfer and professional services, for governments, development lenders financing them. Scale: National. Service levels are written as numbers you can measure on your own dashboard.
Talk to salesNext step
Plan national weather and hydrology networks with us
Tell us the site, the measurements and the rules it answers to. We reply with a survey proposal, a design and a scope for national weather and hydrology networks. An engineer replies with a survey proposal and a scope, and the plan grows from one site to the network you need, at your pace.
Plan a deploymentOpen the Station BuilderOpen the Studio
01The place and its hazards
Where it runs, and what can go wrong.
Operating contextNational meteorological and hydrological services run surface stations that feed forecasts, warnings, water allocation and climate records. Countries commit to share a basic set of surface observations through the Global Basic Observing Network, station siting and instruments follow the WMO guide, and data move through the WMO Information System to every user.
Hazards
- Coverage gaps in mountains, borders and remote basins
- Stations that stop reporting for weeks before anyone visits
- Sensors drifting out of calibration between visits
- Missing metadata that makes long records unusable
- Floods and storms that destroy the stations needed most
02What must be measured
What, where, how often, and under which rules.
Each measurement names where it is taken, how often, and the public standard or regulation behind it. Numbers in the sources column open the cited source below.
| Measurement | Where | Cadence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air temperature, humidity, pressure and wind | Standard exposures at automatic weather stations | Hourly or better, reported in near real time | 12 |
| Precipitation | Gauges sited away from obstructions | Hourly totals, events at higher rate | 1 |
| River level and discharge | Gauging stations at rated sections | Every few minutes in floods, hourly otherwise | 3 |
| Station metadata | Every station and instrument in the national register | On every change | 2 |
| Exchange to WMO members | National node of the WMO Information System | As observed | 45 |
03The observation stack
From one base unit to a network.
The same blocks at every scale: instruments and a base node, a site with its radio, a fleet run as one, and a network federated on the open protocol.
- 01
Base unit
A station: reference weather sensors or a river gauge on a sensor hub with a small node, logging locally and reporting each hour.
Build a station → - 02
Site
A site: the station, its mast or stilling well, solar power, a fence and the backhaul chosen for the place.
Plan a site → - 03
Fleet
The national fleet: hundreds of stations with one register, one calibration plan and one console at the service.
Managed offers → - 04
Network
Neighbouring services, ministries and WMO centres exchange observations through the WMO Information System and open standards.
The open protocol →
- 01Automatic weather station (WMO class)
- 02Compact weather station
- 03Water level gauge
- 04Sensor and instrument gateway
- 05Micro node (Nano)
- 06Cellular modem/router
- 07LEO flat-panel terminal
- 08Solar array
- 09Pole
Radio and links
Public cellular
Most stations sit within coverage; cellular carries hourly reports at low cost.
Radio and links
Satellite
Mountain, border and island stations without coverage report by satellite.
Radio and links
LoRaWAN
Clusters of rain gauges around a hub station reach it over a local low-power network.
Edge computeEach station node checks values against physical limits and neighbours, flags gaps, stores a month of data locally and adds the metadata each report needs before it is sent.
PowerSolar panels and batteries sized for the darkest month keep stations running off grid; the node reports its own power so crews visit before a station fails.
04How it works
From the instrument to the product.
One observation’s path, tier by tier, with the interface on every link and a bill of materials below; then how the one node grows to a site, a fleet and federated networks.
National weather and hydrology networks: data path
– of 07
01 Instruments Measurement with sensor identity andcalibration 02 Gateway 03 Node – Wrap in an observation envelope with timequality– Measure quality and uncertainty, attachquality flags– Buffer locally (store-and-forward when thelink drops) 04 Backhaul Commit with transactional outbox andpublish, delivered at least once 05 Site Consumer inbox deduplicates and applieseach record once into governed data 06 Data store Governed product through API, map orexport, correction-aware 07 Products WMO WIS 2.0OGC SensorThings APISDI-12 08 Power and structure Supplies 12 V DC, 48 V DC to the fieldequipment 01 Automatic weather station (WMOclass) SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 02 Compact weather station SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 03 Water level gauge SDI-12 · RS-485 · Ethernet 04 Sensor and instrument gateway SDI-12 · RS-485 · Analogue I/O ·Ethernet · USB 05 Micro node (Nano) Ethernet · USB · Analogue I/O ·RS-485 · CAN 06 Cellular modem/router Ethernet · USB · RS-232 07 LEO flat-panel terminal Ethernet Site MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B Governed data store Versioned, correction-aware Hourly surface observations River levels and discharge Long homogeneous stationrecords Network completeness anduptime reports Observations exchanged withWMO members 08 Solar array RS-485 09 Pole SDI-12 · SDI-12 SDI-12 · SDI-12 SDI-12 · SDI-12 Ethernet · MQTT 5 Ethernet Ethernet LTE/NR Satellite IP| Item | Equipment | Data ports | Protocols | Power in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Automatic weather station (WMO class)Automatic weather station built and sited to WMO-No. 8 instrument and siting classes, reporting WIGOS metadata. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC |
| 02 | Compact weather stationAll-in-one or compact station for temperature, humidity, pressure, wind and rain at a site. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC |
| 03 | Water level gaugeRadar, pressure or float gauge for river, lake, reservoir or tide level. | SDI-12RS-485Ethernet | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API | 12 V DC |
| 04 | Sensor and instrument gatewayData logger and gateway that reads instruments on SDI-12, RS-485, analogue and Ethernet ports and publishes observations with calibration and time. | SDI-12RS-485Analogue I/OEthernetUSB | SDI-12, Modbus, MQTT 5, OGC SensorThings API, OGC API Connected Systems, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE |
| 05 | Micro node (Nano)Single-board or module-class node for sensor sites, gateways and low-power deployments. | EthernetUSBAnalogue I/ORS-485CAN | MQTT 5, OMA LwM2M, CoAP | PoE, 12 V DC, USB PD |
| 06 | Cellular modem/routerLTE or NR modem or router that uses a public carrier or private network as backhaul. | EthernetUSBRS-232 | 3GPP E-UTRA air interface, 3GPP NR air interface, OMA LwM2M | 12 V DC, PoE |
| 07 | LEO flat-panel terminalElectronically steered flat-panel user terminal for low-Earth-orbit broadband constellations. | Ethernet | — | PoE, 48 V DC, AC mains |
| 08 | Solar arrayPV modules with charge controller sized to the site’s load and climate. | RS-485 | Modbus | — |
| 09 | PoleUtility, street or dedicated pole with clamp positions. | — | — | — |
How it scales
01 Instruments Arbitrary qualified sensors and instruments whosemeasurements are ingested with calibration, units,geometry, time, custody and uncertainty. ×n 02 Node The minimum useful deployable unit: server, ruggedappliance, radio node, sensor gateway, satelliteterminal, AI, scientific, vehicle or virtual node. Node Node agent 03 Site The minimum independently operable localgovernance and failure domain: one or more nodesplus local network, identity, policy, evidence,storage, products and operator surfaces.SITE
Node Node Node ×n 04 Cluster An optional scale or specialisation domain forscheduling, shared storage, accelerators or datalocality.CLUSTER
×n 05 Fleet Coordinates plans, acknowledgements,convergence evidence, update campaigns andcorrection propagation across nodes and sites.FLEET
Fleet controller ×n 06 Federation An exchange of products, capabilities, events orwork across approved, independently administeredtrust domains, using explicit trust, policy,data-locality, version and correction contracts.TRUST DOMAIN
TRUST DOMAIN
TRUST DOMAIN
×n Verifier Applications Data in the field Telemetry Control Data upstream Control Data upstream Control Exchange Evidence Events Exchange- Data in the field
- MQTT 5 with Sparkplug B; connectors for LoRaWAN, OPC UA and instrument buses.
- Telemetry
- OpenTelemetry OTLP.
- Control
- TLS 1.3 with mutual authentication; protobuf messages over gRPC or HTTP/2.
- Data upstream
- At-least-once publication with repeat-safe keys over the control channel or NATS JetStream; QUIC MAY be used on lossy links.
- Evidence
- DSSE-signed in-toto statements; SLSA provenance; SCITT transparency receipts.
- Events
- Event envelopes mapped to CloudEvents 1.0; channels described in AsyncAPI 3.
- Exchange
- OpenAPI 3.1; the OGC API family; SensorThings; STAC; WIS 2.0.
05From order to operation
Every step, from the first call to a running site.
The same crew and the same record carry the work from scope to maintenance.
- 01 Order
Scope the gaps against national duties
The scope reads the existing network, its gaps against the national and regional commitments, the hazards each basin faces and the service budget. Nexus Observatory Inc. returns a station plan by type and place, the exchange design, a calibration plan and a price per station and per year, with the staff the service will need. 2
- 02 Survey
Survey every candidate site
Crews and service staff visit each candidate site: exposure and obstructions, ground and access, flood marks, land ownership, coverage of the backhaul options and the safety of the place. Each candidate is scored against the siting classes and the best is recorded with photographs and coordinates. 1
- 03 Permits
Land, licences and agreements
Land agreements with owners and communities, radio licences where needed, environmental approvals for river works and permissions for border or protected areas are gathered. Every approval is kept with the station record so the service can show its legal basis.
- 04 Build
Build and calibrate in the shop
Station kits are built, every sensor is calibrated against references traceable to national standards, nodes are enrolled with their identities and the complete station runs together for days before it ships. Each kit is labelled with its station identifier. Test results travel with the kit to the site.
- 05 Install
Install to the siting classes
Crews set masts and gauges at the surveyed positions, mount sensors at standard heights and exposures, fit solar power and backhaul, and photograph each part. River stations get their staff gauges and benchmarks surveyed to the national datum. The site record is updated before the crew leaves. 13
- 06 Commission
Commission against references
Each station proves its identity, readings are compared with a travelling reference, reports reach the national system and the WMO exchange, and the metadata record is completed. The station enters service only when its first week of data passes the checks. 4
- 07 Operate
Run the national network
The service sees every station live: data completeness, flags, power and the next calibration due. Forecasters, hydrologists and climate staff receive the same checked data, neighbours receive it through the WMO exchange, and gaps are visible before they matter. Reports for owners and funders come from the same record. 2
- 08 Maintain
Calibrate, repair and train
Sensors rotate through the calibration laboratory on the agreed plan, crews repair stations after storms and floods, software updates roll out in rings, and service staff are trained to run every task themselves. The register records each change. Spares and procedures travel with the crews.
06Data products and integration
What it delivers, to whom, and into which systems.
Data products
- Hourly surface observationsForecasters and warning services
- River levels and dischargeHydrologists and water ministries
- Long homogeneous station recordsClimate services
- Network completeness and uptime reportsService management and funders
- Observations exchanged with WMO membersNeighbouring services and global centres
Integration
- National data systemReports arrive in the service’s own database and forecasting systems in the formats it uses.
- WMO Information SystemObservations are published through the national node of WIS 2.0 for exchange.
- Station registerMetadata are kept in the national register and shared with the WMO station catalogue.
Exchanged through WMO WIS 2.0, OGC SensorThings API, SDI-12.
07Questions buyers ask
Before you scope it.
Can our own staff run it?
Yes. Training and procedures are part of the programme and the service owns the network.
Do the stations meet WMO guidance?
They are sited, built and calibrated to the WMO instrument guide.
Will the data reach WMO?
Yes, through the national node of the WMO Information System.
What happens after a flood?
Damaged stations are found from their last reports and repaired in planned visits.
08Resources
The sources behind this page.
Public standards, regulations and guidance, cited where they apply. Each applies only where its jurisdiction or scope does.
- 1WMO-No. 8: Guide to Instruments and Methods of ObservationWorld Meteorological Organization
- 2WMO-No. 1160: Manual on the WMO Integrated Global Observing SystemWorld Meteorological Organization
- 3WMO-No. 168: Guide to Hydrological PracticesWorld Meteorological Organization
- 4WMO-No. 1060: Manual on the WMO Information SystemWorld Meteorological Organization
- 5WMO Unified Data Policy, Resolution 1 (Cg-Ext(2021))World Meteorological Organization · 2021
09Related
Use cases and solutions.
Use caseGBON gap-filler station
A WMO-grade surface station, optional upper-air ground station and a WIS 2.0 node, built to report reliably where the global basic observing network has gaps.The full use case →Use caseState or provincial mesonet site
A full weather station on a solar-powered tower with soil sensors, one of a dense network run by a university.The full use case →Use caseLow-cost stream gauge network
Radar or pressure level sensors with low-power radio and solar power, as a cheaper tier beside a national gauge network.The full use case →SolutionNational observing network programmes
Build-operate-transfer of national observing infrastructure as digital public infrastructure, with transfer of skills and records.Solutions for government →SolutionHydrometeorological and flood observing networks
Stream gauges, rain gauges, weather radar and automatic weather stations built to WMO practice, reporting through WIS 2.0 where the agency requires it.Solutions for government →SolutionOperator and technician training on delivered systems
Hands-on courses for customer staff on the systems they run; no public credentials are issued by the group.Solutions for government →10Government: specialized fields
Other fields of this industry.
Specialized fieldUpper-air soundings
Radiosonde stations that launch soundings on schedule, with ground receivers, gas handling and data checks run as part of the national observing programme.The full field →Specialized fieldGeodetic reference and national timing
Continuously operating GNSS reference stations and time references that hold a country’s coordinates and clocks to the global frames every map, survey and network depends on.The full field →Specialized fieldEnvironmental radiation monitoring
Gamma dose-rate stations across the country, reporting continuously to the national authority and its neighbours so that a release anywhere is seen at once.The full field →Specialized fieldSpace weather monitoring
Magnetometers and ionospheric receivers that measure geomagnetic storms and their effects on power grids, satellite navigation and radio, feeding national space weather services.The full field →Bring us the site.
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