The National Centre for Climate Services (NCCS) is the network for climate services of the Swiss Confederation. As a national knowledge hub, it promotes climate-sensitive decision-making aimed at minimising risks, maximising opportunities and optimising costs.
The NCCS coordinates the co-development and provision of climate services and promotes dialogue between the parties involved. With the inception of the NCCS at the end of 2015, the Swiss Confederation followed the recommendations of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The NCCS is organised in the form of a virtual centre, and currently consists of nine administrative federal bodies: Federal Office for Meteorology and Climatology (MeteoSwiss), Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Federal Office for Civil Protection (FOCP), Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG), Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (FSVO), Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE), ETH Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). The secretariat is hosted by MeteoSwiss. The main target groups of the NCCS encompass national to local government institutions and policy-makers, the private sector, science-oriented users and international actors in the field of climate services.
Together with the Centre's partner organisations, NCCS members work on priority themes relating to climate change: from climate scenarios and Switzerland's water resources to human and animal health and impacts on forest and agricultural ecosystems. The 'NCCS-Impacts' programme is a comprehensive effort to understand how Switzerland could effectively address the effects of climate change.
The annual forum brings together producers and users of climate services in Switzerland to discuss ideas, needs and opportunities. The NCCS also participates in national and international conferences on climate services to ensure exchange at all levels.
Everything about NCCS as well as a variety of climate services and information on adaptation to climate change can be found on the NCCS web portal . It serves as the one-stop shop of the federal government for climate services. Information, products, guidelines and best-practice examples are available on the platform.