Missions

Météo-France exercises the State's responsibilities in terms of the meteorological safety of people and property. As such, it provides its technical expertise to the relevant government departments: services in mainland France and overseas territories responsible for civil security, major risk prevention and nuclear safety.

To do this, Météo-France produces and distributes warning notices relating to dangerous meteorological phenomena as well as its vigilance map. Météo-France is thus the first link in the alert chain.

Météo-France also contributes to the management of natural risks (flooding, drought, forest fires, volcanic ash monitoring, cyclonic monitoring) as well as health and technological risks (air quality monitoring, pollen, prediction of the dispersion of usual or accidental pollution - chemical or nuclear - in the atmosphere or on the sea surface, etc), and finally, safety at sea and in the mountains.

This mission requires permanent monitoring 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, of the behaviour of the atmosphere, the snowpack and the surface ocean.

Meteorological assistance to air navigation is one of the main missions of Météo-France. Since 1 January 2005, this assistance has been governed by the Community regulations of the Single European Sky (SES).

These regulations, which are directly binding on EU Member States and air navigation service providers authorised to operate in EU airspace, allow States the freedom to designate an exclusive provider in their airspace. For France, Météo-France, a service provider certified and designated by the administration under the SES, is responsible for providing the meteorological service to air navigation in French airspace.

It uses its expertise in observation, forecasting and research to provide aviation users with the weather information they need to ensure flight safety and regularity and improve their relevance and performance.

Météo-France provides operational support to the armed forces, on the national territory and in theatres of operation abroad, by providing them with weather observations and forecasts.

The Centre Interarmées de Soutien Météo-océanographique aux Forces (CISMF - Joint Forces Weather-Oceanographic Support Centre), located on the Météopole site in Toulouse, brings together military meteorologists and oceanographers and engineers from Météo-France.

The National Meteorological School trains national and partner country military personnel.

As an institution of expertise and research, Météo-France contributes to the implementation of national and international climate orientations by providing the national meteorological and climatic service in charge of weather forecasting, the record of past climate and the study of future climate. Its expertise is nurtured by its research work at the National Meteorological Research Centre, and the institution trains future experts at the National School of Meteorology.

In response to the strong societal expectations raised by the growing awareness of climate change issues, Météo-France is committed to enhancing the value of products resulting from climate research and making this information accessible to decision-makers, the general public, the public sector and private stakeholders.

Météo-France is thus positioning its scientific expertise at the service of climate policies both at the international level, through active participation in the work of the IPCC, and at the national level within the context of the revision of the National Plan for Adapting to Climate Change (PNACC).