Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss

What Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss does

MeteoSwiss (Bundesamt für Meteorologie und Klimatologie) is the Swiss federal office responsible for national meteorological and climatological services, headquartered in Zurich-Flughafen and operating continuously since 1864. Its mandate, established under Articles 10-11 of the Government and Administration Organization Act, covers weather forecasting, natural hazard warnings, climate monitoring, and climate scenario projection for Switzerland. The organization serves the general Swiss public, civil and military aviation, the energy sector, agriculture and water management, international bodies such as the WMO, and Swiss research institutions including ETH Zurich and the universities of Bern and Lausanne. It does so as a wholly government-owned entity with no commercial equity structure and no venture or external capital.

The technical backbone is the SwissMetNet automatic measurement network of approximately 260 stations delivering 10-minute observations on temperature, humidity, pressure, wind, precipitation, and solar radiation, complemented by the Swiss NBCN reference network of 29 climate and 46 precipitation stations with uninterrupted records since 1864. Data products flow through a quality-controlled Data Warehouse, satellite ingestion from EUMETSAT (MeteoSwiss is a founding member), and the Klima CH2025 modeling pipeline built on EURO-CORDEX regional climate simulations downscaled to 1 km and augmented by convection-permitting methods under three Global Warming Levels.

The go-to-market model is a public-sector, direct-to-consumer distribution: free core services via the meteoschweiz.admin.ch website, the MeteoSwiss iOS/Android app with push-based severe-weather alerts, and the Open Government Data portal offering machine-readable datasets under CC BY 4.0. Supplementary monetization is limited to per-minute premium 0900 telephone lines (CHF 2.90/minute) for forecast, past-weather, and aviation consulting, plus formal licensing of non-public channels under MetV. All material funding flows from the federal budget rather than from commercial revenue.

Name

Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss

Legal name

Bundesamt für Meteorologie und Klimatologie MeteoSchweiz

Website

https://meteoschweiz.admin.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

1864

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

MeteoSwiss is the Swiss federal office for meteorology and climatology, operating SwissMetNet (~260 automatic stations), satellite ingestion via EUMETSAT, and the Klima CH2025 climate scenarios to deliver public weather forecasting, hazard warnings, and climate data to Swiss residents, aviation, energy, agriculture, and research institutions.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

National Meteorological and Climatological Services

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

akta.pro primary industry

Early Warning, Event Monitoring & Forecasting (Extreme Weather Alerts, Nowcasting) (EUABALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Downscaled Climate Projections & Scenario Analytics (CMIP, SSP/RCP, Regionalization) (EUABALAB), Environmental Monitoring, Data & Reporting (Air/Water/Soil) (BPAIAMAC)

Keywords

• National weather forecasting
• Climate monitoring services
• Meteorological observations
• Natural hazard warnings
• Open government data

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: As a Swiss Federal Office, MeteoSwiss is primarily funded through the federal government budget. Services are rendered on behalf of the Swiss Confederation.
2. Fee-based Phone Services: Premium telephone consultation services at CHF 2.90/minute for weather forecasts (0900 162 333), past weather information (0900 162 403), and aviation weather consulting (0900 162 737, 24-hour service).
3. Open Government Data: Free provision of meteorological and climatological data and information through Open Government Data (OGD) portal and MeteoSwiss App, with premium services available for specific consulting requests.
4. Licensed Data Access: Fees and usage conditions governed by the Ordinance on Meteorology and Climatology (MetV, SR 429.11). Use of fee-based services and non-public channels requires authorization from MeteoSwiss.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss operates as Switzerland's national weather and climate authority, providing real-time weather forecasts, severe weather warnings (storms, flooding, heat, frost, snow, avalanches), climate monitoring, and long-term climate scenarios. Primary customer-facing channels include the meteoschweiz.admin.ch website, the MeteoSwiss mobile app, and an Open Government Data (OGD) portal that publishes machine-readable measurement and climate datasets under CC BY 4.0 licensing. Underlying infrastructure comprises the SwissMetNet automatic measurement network and the Swiss NBCN reference climatological network.

Product overview

MeteoSchweiz operates as Switzerland's federal meteorological and climatological authority, offering a portfolio of interconnected products spanning public weather services, climate monitoring, and open data access. The core offerings consist of the meteoschweiz.admin.ch website and the MeteoSwiss mobile App, which together deliver real-time weather forecasts, severe weather warnings, and climate information to the public. Supporting infrastructure includes the SwissMetNet automated measurement network (~260 stations) and the Swiss NBCN reference climate network. Climate services are anchored by the Climate CH2025 scenarios and Web Atlas, providing projections under three Global Warming Levels. The Open Government Data portal enables free machine-readable access to station measurements, radar, satellite, and gridded climate datasets. Specialized services include satellite imagery from EUMETSAT, monthly and seasonal outlooks, aviation weather, and an editorial blog. A crowdsourcing feature (Meteo Meldungen) in the App enables citizen-reported weather observations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• meteoschweiz.admin.ch Website Central public-facing website of MeteoSwiss providing weather forecasts, severe weather warnings, climate monitoring, and access to all official meteorological and climatological content for Switzerland.
• MeteoSwiss Mobile App Official mobile application of MeteoSwiss providing weather forecasts, severe weather warnings, and weather-related information for locations in Switzerland and abroad.
• Open Government Data (OGD) Portal Open data portal publishing measurement and forecast data from the SwissMetNet and other MeteoSwiss observation systems under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) license for reuse by the public, researchers, and developers.
• Klima CH2025 Climate Scenarios Updated national climate scenarios for Switzerland including a Web Atlas and downloadable datasets (CH2018 → CH2025) based on EURO-CORDEX and convection-permitting regional climate models, downscaled to 1 km resolution for Switzerland.
• Climate Monitor (Klima-Monitor) Interactive web tool providing the public with access to historical climate data, trends, and key indicators from the MeteoSwiss observation networks.
• Measurement Data (Messwerte) Real-time and historical measurement data from the SwissMetNet observation network, provided to the public and specialized users.
• Specialized Forecasts (Spezialprognosen) Tailored meteorological products and services for aviation, energy, agriculture, water management, road transport, and other professional users.
• Satellite Images & Data Satellite-based imagery and data products derived from the EUMETSAT satellite fleet, provided for public and professional users.
• SwissMetNet
• Swiss NBCN (National Basic Climatological Network)
• Premium 0900 Telephone Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Switzerland's climate has warmed by approximately 3.0°C above pre-industrial levels (1871-1900) as of 2025, compared to global average of 1.3-1.4°C
• +1 more outcomes

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability7 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2025MeteoSwiss developed Klima CH2025 climate scenarios together with ETH Zurich and the Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM), with contributions from University of Bern and University of Lausanne, under the umbrella of the National Centre for Climate Services (NCCS). ETH Zurich provides research collaboration and climate systems modeling expertise.
• WMO (World Meteorological Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 March 1950WMO was founded on 23 March 1950, replacing the International Meteorological Organisation (IMO) established in 1873. It is a UN special organization based in Geneva. Switzerland is represented by MeteoSwiss among 193 member states. WMO coordinates international cooperation for weather, climate, hydrology, and water resources, and promotes programs enabling unhindered exchange of meteorological and hydrological data.
• EUMETSAT (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Satellites)coreTechnology or IntegrationMeteoSwiss is a founding member of EUMETSAT, the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Satellites. Through this partnership, MeteoSwiss receives data and information from European weather satellites and various international satellites, enabling production of detailed cloud distribution, development, and movement images for aviation and public use.
• Center for Climate Systems Modeling (C2SM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerC2SM is a collaborative research center that serves as the institutional framework for climate systems modeling in Switzerland. It supports the development of Klima CH2025 climate scenarios and provides a platform for climate research coordination.
• NCCS (National Centre for Climate Services)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCCS is the national coordination body for climate services in Switzerland. MeteoSwiss participates in NCCS programs including GAW-CH (Global Atmospheric Watch) and GCOS-CH (Global Climate Observing System - Switzerland), which coordinate atmospheric and climate monitoring activities.
• EUPORIAS Project ConsortiumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMeteoSwiss participated in the EUPORIAS project to improve the presentation of probability forecasts and develop freely available software tools for processing and analyzing long-term forecasts. The project explored the potential of forecasts with direct application relevance.
• EURO-CORDEX (Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment - European Domain)coreTechnology or IntegrationEURO-CORDEX is the European branch of the CORDEX initiative under the World Climate Research Programme. It provides regional climate model simulations that MeteoSwiss uses as the basis for Swiss climate scenarios (Klima CH2025), with approximately 12km spatial resolution for Europe.
• Swiss NBCN Partner InstitutionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with GCOS (Global Climate Observing System) and Centennial Observing Stations initiative, which emphasizes the importance of protecting and maintaining long-term climate measurement records. MeteoSwiss contributes Swiss data to international climate monitoring networks.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• DTN: Commercial provider of weather, climate, and agricultural decision-support services globally. Comparable in serving aviation, agriculture, and energy with weather/climate data — though as a commercial peer rather than a public agency.
• NOAA / National Weather Service: U.S. federal weather agency providing public forecasts, severe weather warnings, and climate data at massive scale. Comparable in mandate and product categories, but far broader in geography, scope, and budget.
• European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF): Intergovernmental organization producing global numerical weather predictions, which MeteoSwiss itself consumes for monthly/seasonal outlooks. Peer in that it serves as a backbone climate/weather infrastructure provider across Europe.

Direct peers

• Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD): Germany's national meteorological service, operating a comparable nationwide observation network, aviation weather services, climate monitoring, and public warning systems. Closest functional peer as a federal national weather service in a neighboring DACH country.
• Met Office (UK): United Kingdom's national meteorological service, providing weather forecasts, climate projections (UKCP), hazard warnings, and aviation services. Direct peer in scale, mandate and product mix, including long-term climate datasets.
• GeoSphere Austria (formerly ZAMG): Austria's national meteorological and geophysical service — direct DACH-region peer with similar scale, alpine climate focus, and product portfolio including climate scenarios and hazard warnings.
• Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC): Canadian federal authority responsible for meteorological services, climate monitoring, and weather warnings. Comparable in combining operational forecasting with climate science and public service mandate.
• Météo-France: France's national meteorological and climate service, delivering public forecasts, severe weather warnings, aviation services, and climate scenario products. Highly comparable in operating model and European institutional context.
• KNMI (Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute): Netherlands' national weather service with similar scale and remit, including climate scenario work, atmospheric research, and severe weather alerting. Comparable as a small European national service with strong climate science focus.
• Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA): Japan's national meteorological service offering forecasts, warnings, climate monitoring, and aviation services. Comparable as a federal agency combining operational forecasting with seismology and climate research.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/meteoschweiz
• Facebookfacebook.com/meteoschweiz

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss