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The Met Office outlines its plans for the future of weather and climate science.

The Met Office has released its new five year Science Strategy outlining its plans for weather and climate science 2016-2021.

This strategy aims to deliver science with impact, maximising the benefit to society of our weather and climate expertise, and making the most of the UK government's investment in Met Office high performance computing.

Professor Dame Julia Slingo, Met Office Chief Scientist, said: "Our science underpins the weather and climate services that we deliver to protect the public, help businesses and advise government.

"The drivers behind the new science strategy will focus on improving prediction systems across all timescales from hours to decades, and from the global to the local, so everyone can make the most of the opportunities presented by knowing what the weather and climate will do, both now and as our climate changes."

The strategy will include a structured programme of improvements so that governments, businesses and society as a whole, have more robust and reliable information on the risks associated with particular weather and climate events.

Partnerships in science will continue to play a pivotal role in enabling the Met Office to access an increasingly broad range of science and technology and in cementing links across national and international research and service organisations. The new strategy also outlines plans to improve global partnerships over the next five years.

Professor Duncan Wingham Chief Executive of  NERC 'NERC-funded basic science of the environment informs all aspects of our understanding of the environment. Much of the impact of the emerging understanding of the climate system occurs through its channelling into the weather and climate forecasting in which the Met Office are a world-leader. Working strategically with the Met Office is a natural choice for us, and in doing so we together can achieve much more than the sum of our parts. NERC greatly appreciates the recognition the new science strategy attaches to the importance of working with us, and the wider scientific community.'

World-class Met Office science has already enabled the UK to attain a world leading position inweather forecasting, climate prediction and climate change projection, and to be recognised as a centre of excellence in weather and climate research.

This strategy is shaped by the step-change in capability presented by the recent investment in high performance computing at the Met Office, and the new opportunities it will offer for ground-breaking research. But, importantly, it will also ensure that the science we undertake in the next five years demonstrates real social and economic benefits to justify the investment; ensure that the UK has access to the best operational services and policy advice in the coming decade; and ensure that the UK's weather, climate and environmental services remain fit for purpose in the decade beyond.