Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

What Institute of Meteorology and Water Management does

IMGW-PIB is Poland's national meteorological and hydrological research institute, founded in 1919 and headquartered in Warsaw, operating as a Państwowy Instytut Badawczy (State Research Institute) wholly owned by the Polish government. It holds statutory responsibility under Polish law for national weather forecasting, flood and drought warnings, climate monitoring, and environmental assessments, serving Polish government ministries, voivodeship offices, municipal administrations, and state emergency management agencies as its primary customer base. The institute also serves commercial clients across aviation, agriculture, energy, construction, offshore, transport, and media sectors, plus the general public through free digital portals and mobile applications.

The institute's technical platform integrates multiple numerical weather prediction models (COSMO, ALARO, AROME, GFS, ICON, WRF METEOPG) cascading through its proprietary Hybrid 1.0 architecture, alongside nowcasting systems (INCA-PL2, SCENE), storm detection (PERUN), and a suite of hydrological and hydrodynamic models (HEC-HMS, HBV, NAM/MIKE 11, IMGW HD, HEC-RAS). This is backed by Poland's most extensive monitoring network — 64 synoptic stations, over 900 climatological and precipitation stations, 900+ hydrological stations, 10 weather radars, 13 lightning detection stations, 4 aerological stations, and the r/v Baltica marine research vessel — feeding public portals (meteo.imgw.pl, hydro.imgw.pl, gory.imgw.pl, awiacja.imgw.pl), the IMGW Pogoda mobile app, accredited testing (AB 1388) and calibration (AP 126) laboratories under PN-EN ISO/IEC 17025:2018, and the annual Szkoła Hydrologii i Gospodarki Wodnej scientific conference. Service delivery is hybrid: government budget allocations fund mandated public-good coverage, while commercial revenue is generated through direct B2B sales ([email protected]) of custom forecasts, expert analyses, archival data, subscription-based agricultural monitoring, and industry-specific products across all major weather-sensitive verticals.

Name

Institute of Meteorology and Water Management

Legal name

Instytut Meteorologii i Gospodarki Wodnej – Państwowy Instytut Badawczy

Website

https://imgw.pl

Company type

Private

Founded year

1919

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

IMGW-PIB is Poland's national meteorological and hydrological state research institute, founded in 1919, providing statutory weather forecasts, flood and drought warnings, and climate services to government agencies, commercial enterprises across aviation, agriculture, energy, construction, offshore, and media sectors, and the general public through a nationwide network of 3,700+ monitoring stations and proprietary Hybrid 1.0 numerical forecasting systems.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Meteorological and Hydrological Services

NAICS

Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEUAHACAC

Water Quality Monitoring (Surface Water, Stormwater, Drinking Water)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Compliance, Monitoring & Consulting/Environmental Monitoring & Sampling (Air/Water/Soil/Noise)

SECONDARYEUAHAKAF

Water Quality & Watershed/Hydrologic Modeling (SWMM/HEC-RAS, Flood/Runoff/Nutrient)

Energy, Utilities & Environment/Environmental Compliance, Monitoring & Consulting/Environmental Data Management, Modeling & GIS/Remote Sensing

Keywords

• Weather forecasting services
• Hydrological monitoring
• Meteorological data
• Flood warning systems
• Climate monitoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Warsaw

HQ country

Poland

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Government Mandate Services: State-mandated meteorological and hydrological coverage services for Poland, funded through government budget allocations. This includes national weather forecasting, flood warnings, and climate monitoring — core publicgood functions of the Państwowy Instytut Badawczy (State Research Institute).
2. Commercial Data and Consulting Services: Fee-based specialized services sold to businesses across sectors including aviation, agriculture, energy, construction, offshore, transport, media, sports, and public administration. Offerings include custom forecasts, expert analyses, archival data, certifications, and on-site meteorological coverage.
3. Laboratory Testing and Calibration Services: Accredited testing laboratory (AB 1388) and calibration laboratory (AP 126) services for water and environmental sampling, chemical analysis, and measurement instrument calibration. Offered to industrial clients, environmental agencies, and construction firms.
4. Training and Conference Services: Revenue from training programs, the Szkoła Hydrologii i Gospodarki Wodnej annual conference, and specialized workshops for professionals in hydrology, water management, and related fields.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

IMGW-PIB operates Poland's national meteorological and hydrological service, delivering weather forecasts, hydrological predictions, flood and drought warnings, and climate monitoring for government, commercial enterprises, and the general public. Its offering is anchored by web portals (meteo.imgw.pl, hydro.imgw.pl), a mobile app (IMGW Pogoda), specialized industry services (aviation, agriculture, energy, construction, offshore, media), accredited laboratory testing and calibration, and an annual hydrology/water management conference.

Product overview

IMGW-PIB operates a comprehensive suite of web-based meteorological and hydrological services built around core portals (meteo.imgw.pl, hydro.imgw.pl) supplemented by specialized domain platforms (awiacja.imgw.pl for aviation, gory.imgw.pl for mountains, aplikacja meteo for agriculture), mobile applications (IMGW Pogoda), and scientific publishing (Obserwator magazine). The infrastructure supports Poland's meteorological and hydrological coverage through a nationwide network of over 900+ climatological/precipitation stations, 900+ hydrological stations, 64 synoptic stations, 10 weather radars, 13 storm detection stations, and 4 aerological stations, integrated with satellite data from geostationary (METEOSAT) and polar-orbiting (Metop) platforms. Advanced numerical weather prediction systems (COSMO, ALADIN/AROME, ALARO, GFS, WRF METEOPG, Hybrid 1.0) and hydrological models (HEC-HMS, HBV, NAM/MIKE 11, IMGW HD, HEC-RAS) power forecasting capabilities spanning from nowcasting to seasonal predictions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• meteo.imgw.pl: Dynamic weather maps and meteorological forecasts portal
• hydro.imgw.pl
• gory.imgw.pl
• Obserwator
• PERUN
• Monitor IMGW

Products and services

• Meteo IMGW-PIB (meteo.imgw.pl)

Quantifiable outcome

• Poland-wide flood monitoring with 900+ hydrological stations providing real-time water level and flow data for early warning
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMGW-PIB represents Poland in the World Meteorological Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations. The institute participates in WMO programs, contributes to international meteorological standards development, and engages in research collaborations from the Arctic to Africa as part of WMO initiatives.
• Eumetsat (European Organisation for the Exploitation of Satellite Meteorology)coreTechnology or IntegrationIMGW-PIB participates in Eumetsat programs as the designated Polish representative for satellite meteorology. The institute receives and processes satellite data from Eumetsat's geostationary (Meteosat) and polar-orbiting (Metop) satellites, integrating this data into its national forecasting systems.
• Polish Academy of Sciences (PAN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMGW-PIB collaborates with the Polish Academy of Sciences on scientific research, conference organization, and funding initiatives. The annual Szkoła Hydrologii i Gospodarki Wodnej received co-funding from PAN resources, demonstrating the institutional research collaboration between the two organizations.
• SGGW - Warsaw University of Life SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the Szkoła Hydrologii i Gospodarki Wodnej annual scientific conference. SGGW's Water Centre contributes scientific expertise and student participation to the joint educational and research platform.
• URK - University of Agriculture in KrakowcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-organizer of the Szkoła Hydrologii i Gospodarki Wodnej annual scientific conference. Contributes hydrology research expertise and serves on the organizational committee alongside IMGW-PIB researchers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts): Intergovernmental organization that produces global numerical weather prediction models (ECMWF IFS, ERA5 reanalysis) actively integrated into IMGW-PIB's forecasting pipeline. ECMWF is an enabling infrastructure provider rather than a competitor, but its open data outputs reduce barriers to entry for alternative forecast providers that could compete with IMGW-PIB commercially.

Direct peers

• Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI): Netherlands' national meteorological service provides weather forecasting, climate research, and seismology under a national mandate similar to IMGW-PIB. KNMI offers a comparable operational template focused on quality science for a smaller geography, with similar market structure (national mandate + commercial data services).
• Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI): Finland's national meteorological institute provides weather, climate, and air quality services under a comparable mandate to IMGW-PIB. FMI's research-publishing and commercial service model is structurally similar, serving as a relevant peer for how a smaller northern European met institute operates.
• Norwegian Meteorological Institute: Norway's national meteorological service delivers weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and polar observations under a national mandate, with overlapping Baltic-Nordic regional interests. Comparable mandate structure and emphasis on public-facing open data make MET Norway a relevant operational peer.
• Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI): Sweden's national agency combines meteorology, hydrology, and oceanography under one institution, mirroring IMGW-PIB's meteorological-hydrological dual mandate. SMHI's operational structure (commercial services sold alongside public mandate) is a particularly relevant comparator for how IMGW-PIB's commercial offerings can scale.
• Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD): Germany's national meteorological service operates under a similarly broad statutory mandate spanning weather forecasting, climate monitoring, aviation services, and hydrology. As an adjacent Central European national met service with comparable scale (≈2,300 staff) and infrastructure footprint, DWD is the closest institutional and operational peer to IMGW-PIB.
• Météo-France: France's national meteorological service delivers comprehensive weather forecasts, climate research, and hydrometeorological services for France and overseas territories. Similar in mandate, scale, and combination of public-good mission with commercial offerings, Météo-France is a directly comparable national met service peer.
• Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ): Czech Republic's national hydrometeorological institute combines meteorology, hydrology, and air quality monitoring under a single statutory mandate that closely mirrors IMGW-PIB's scope. As a direct neighbor with similar geographic and climatic conditions, ČHMÚ is a highly comparable peer in scale, mandate, and operational model.
• Met Office (UK): United Kingdom's national meteorological service provides weather forecasting, climate science, and has developed a substantial commercial arm selling data and services to global business customers. The Met Office's commercialization trajectory is the most relevant model for the upper bound of what a public meteorological institute's commercial business can become.

Broad incumbents

• AccuWeather: Large commercial weather services provider serving media, business, and consumer segments globally. AccuWeather competes with national met services' commercial offerings in media, agriculture, and enterprise data markets, providing a useful reference point for the commercial trajectory of weather data businesses relative to IMGW-PIB's mandate-anchored model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/imgwmeteo
• Facebookfacebook.com/Meteoimgw
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imgw

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Institute of Meteorology and Water Management