Convener: Tobias Geiger (Deutscher Wetterdienst, Germany), Adrian Perrels (Finnish Meteorological Institute, Finland)

The “Weather Enterprise” exists to observe, model, forecast, and communicate data and information about weather, water, and climate for the benefit of society. To do so, the Enterprise has established the structures, organizations, and metrics needed to improve the accuracy and precision of forecasts and warnings. Over the years, the entire weather information process has transformed into a full weather forecast value chain including the communication, reception, comprehension, use, and value of weather information. This ultimately requires the development of new structures, organizations, and metrics focused on achieving societal outcomes and societal value. This session focuses on the societal value generated through weather information. It assembles the various metrics, approaches and structures created to measure the socioeconomic benefit of weather information but also presents methodological advances, novel strategies and visions to further improve on their societal value. This session gathers relevant actors from operational, research and forecast user communities involved in this valuation process allowing to exchange on recent developments and achievements, to identify current challenges and to create a vision for the future. We invite contributions that

• Provide assessments/valuations of monetized/economic benefits but also non-monetized/societal benefits of weather information, such as enhancement of behavioral responses or improved ecosystem services, both from a user or research/provider perspective.
• Attempt unifying assessments of socioeconomic benefits by treating socioeconomics as an array of disciplines, methods, and applications that are equally important in meeting the needs of the weather community and society.
• Present and critically discuss different valuation approaches; contribute to the identification of standardized/universal valuation approaches.
• Aim to improve the valuation process by characterizing and communicating the value of information to various sectors and the public, e.g. by specifically understanding the linkages between weather information and a sector’s socioeconomic activity
• Aim to improve the societal value of the final services either through novel services, like impact-based products, or through novel strategies, like co-design with societal actors. 
• Bridge the gap between meteorological and climate information services in order to create synergies through seamlessly joining both realms.
• contribute in other relevant ways to this topic