The development of the commercial weather services market in Europe: 1970-2012

Abstract

This study explores the development of commercial weather services in Europe over the past 40 years. The market is traced from its very low levels in the 1970s to its present size of ∼ €300 million per annum (excluding aviation). Ways in which growth in the European weather market has been affected by government policies relating to the organization of weather services and the philosophical argument over the status of ‘public sector information’ (PSI), the improvements in weather forecast quality and the advent of mobile web technology are discussed. Despite some significant growth among the private sector providers, the current structure of the European commercial weather market on the supply side restrains its overall development and the ability of both the private and public sectors to stimulate and meet the market needs. It is pointed out that, as a consequence of the present governmental policies in many European countries, there are emerging risks to the overall meteorological infrastructure and data quality, while in the commercial weather sector of the economy there has been and remains a clear loss of economic value to central exchequers. Ways to improve this position are proposed.