National Institute Of Meteorology And Hydrology

What National Institute Of Meteorology And Hydrology does

National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH, Национален институт по метеорология и хидрология) is Bulgaria's legally designated national scientific organization for operational meteorology, hydrology, and agrometeorology. Operating under the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and the Ministry of Environment and Waters, NIMH holds exclusive authority to issue official weather forecasts, hydrological warnings, and early warnings for natural disasters of hydrometeorological origin. The institute maintains a headquarters in Sofia and four regional branches in Varna, Kyustendil, Pleven, and Plovdiv, operating a national network of monitoring stations, satellite data processing systems, and numerical weather prediction models.

NIMH's product portfolio spans 15+ core operational systems including 3-day to seasonal weather forecasting, the Hydroprognoza river runoff and flood warning system, agrometeorological forecasts, air quality and chemical weather forecasting (including PM2.5, black carbon, and PAH analysis via Aethalometer and Thermo Scientific Trace 1300/TSQ 8000 GC-MS), fire risk assessment, marine/sea state forecasting, a nuclear accident early warning system, satellite imagery, and the ARDAFORECAST cross-border Bulgaria-Greece flood warning system. The institute also publishes the peer-reviewed Bulgarian Journal of Meteorology and Hydrology (BJMH), monthly and annual hydrometeorological bulletins (continuous since 1971), and climate change projections for Bulgaria. Three of its stations contribute to World Meteorological Organization global observation programs.

As a non-profit state scientific organization, NIMH operates as a public-good provider rather than a commercial enterprise. Revenue is generated exclusively through government budget appropriations under the BAS system and competitive research grants (the only disclosed funding being BGN 119,790 from the National Science Fund for the CARBOAEROSOL project). Services are distributed free of charge through the meteo.bg website, partner media channels, and government distribution networks. The customer base is primarily the Bulgarian state and public authorities, with secondary free access for the agricultural sector, media, general public, and environmental research community.

Name

National Institute Of Meteorology And Hydrology

Legal name

Национален институт по метеорология и хидрология

Website

https://www.meteo.bg

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) is Bulgaria's designated national scientific authority providing operational meteorological, hydrological, and agrometeorological forecasts, early warnings, and research under the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, serving government, agriculture, media, and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Meteorological and Hydrological Services

NAICS

Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYBPADALAH

Water Resources, WASH & Integrated Water Management

Business & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Climate, Environment & Sustainable Development Programs

SECONDARYEUAHACAA

Ambient Air Quality Monitoring (Criteria Pollutants & Air Toxics)

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

SECONDARYEUAHACAE

Groundwater Monitoring & Well Sampling (Monitoring Wells, Plumes)

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

Keywords

• Weather forecasting services
• Hydrological monitoring
• Agrometeorological forecasts
• Air quality monitoring
• Early warning systems

Headquarters

HQ city

Sofia

HQ country

Bulgaria

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Budget Allocation: As a national scientific organization, NIMH operates primarily through state budget funding as part of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences system

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (NIMH) is Bulgaria's designated national scientific organization providing operational meteorological, hydrological, and agrometeorological forecasts, early warning systems, and applied research. It operates the national network of monitoring stations, issues official weather and flood warnings, monitors air quality and atmospheric aerosols, and publishes the Bulgarian Journal of Meteorology and Hydrology along with monthly and annual climate bulletins.

Product overview

National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (НИМХ) is Bulgaria's national scientific organization providing operational meteorological, hydrological, and agrometeorological services. The institute operates a comprehensive forecasting platform offering weather predictions (3-day to seasonal), hydrological monitoring and flood warnings, air quality forecasting, fire risk assessment, and specialized marine forecasting. NIMH also publishes the Bulgarian Journal of Meteorology and Hydrology and annual/monthly bulletins analyzing climate conditions. The system architecture consists of integrated core services including real-time measurement networks, numerical weather prediction models, satellite imagery, and specialized forecasting modules for agriculture, renewable energy, and emergency early warning.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Weather Forecasting System Provides meteorological forecasts including 3-day, weekly, 15-day, monthly, and seasonal forecasts for Bulgaria, Europe, and the Balkans, covering temperature, precipitation, and weather conditions.
• Hydrological Forecasting System (Hydroprognoza) Provides river runoff forecasts, flood warnings, and water level monitoring for rivers across Bulgaria.
• Agrometeorological Forecasting Service Provides agricultural weather forecasts, vegetation conditions, and crop-related meteorological information for agricultural decision-making.
• Air Quality and Chemical Weather Forecasting Service Provides atmospheric pollution monitoring, chemical weather forecasts, and desert dust transport predictions for Bulgaria.
• Fire Risk Forecasting Service Provides fire danger indices, fire risk assessments, and vegetation cover status for wildfire prevention.
• Sea State and Marine Forecasting Service Provides wave height forecasts and sea condition predictions for the Black Sea coast.
• Nuclear Accident Early Warning System Bulgarian system for early warning of possible radioactive contamination in case of nuclear accidents in Europe.
• Satellite Imagery Service Provides real-time satellite imagery and monitoring of atmospheric conditions.
• Real-time Meteorological Measurements Service Provides current weather data from automated stations including temperature, precipitation, wind, and atmospheric conditions across Bulgaria.
• Hydrometeorological Bulletins (Monthly and Annual) Monthly and annual bulletins providing comprehensive analysis of climate, air quality, water resources, and agrometeorological conditions for Bulgaria.
• Bulgarian Journal of Meteorology and Hydrology (BJMH) Peer-reviewed scientific journal publishing original research in meteorology, hydrology, climatology, oceanography, and atmospheric studies.
• Climate Projections for Bulgaria Electronic publication providing climate variation and climate change projections for Bulgaria.
• ARDAFORECAST Flood Warning System Early flood warning system established in the Arda River basin to minimize flood risk in the cross-border region between Bulgaria and Greece.
• Comfort Index (WCI) Forecasting Service Provides human comfort index forecasts based on meteorological conditions.

Quantifiable outcome

• Annual hydro-meteorological bulletins published since 1971
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Burgas State University "Prof. Dr. Assen Zlatarov"coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 December 2019Joint implementation of CARBOAEROSOL project (KP-06-H34/9) investigating black carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in atmospheric aerosol in urban environment. Project duration 36 months, total budget 119,790 BGN funded by National Science Fund.
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO)coreOthersNIMH operates three WMO-recognized meteorological stations contributing to international weather observation programs

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hellenic National Meteorological Service (EMY): Greece's national meteorological authority, directly comparable as a neighboring national service issuing public weather forecasts, warnings, and climate services. Co-operator with NIMH on the ARDAFORECAST cross-border flood warning system.
• National Meteorological Administration of Romania (Meteo Romania): Romania's national meteorological and hydrological service under its Ministry of Environment, performing forecasting, warnings, and climate monitoring functions parallel to NIMH, with similar state-budget funding structure.
• Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service (DHMZ): Croatia's national service combining meteorology and hydrology under a single institute, directly comparable to NIMH's combined met-hydro-agro mandate and Balkan regional scope.
• Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO): Slovenia's national environment, meteorology, hydrology, and seismology agency. Small EU-member equivalent of NIMH with similar integrated environmental monitoring mandate and public-administration structure.

Broad incumbents

• Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD): Germany's national meteorological service under the Federal Ministry of Transport. Operates the same statutory forecast-and-warning function as NIMH but at much greater scale and budget, with broader aviation, marine, and climate portfolios.
• Météo-France: France's national meteorological service with a public-service forecasting, climate, and commercial-services mandate that overlaps directly with NIMH's operational weather and hydrology scope.
• UK Met Office: United Kingdom's national meteorological service combining operational forecasting with commercial trading arm (Met Office Hadley Centre). Comparable in statutory authority and full weather/hydrology/climate portfolio to NIMH.
• NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration): U.S. federal agency covering meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, and atmospheric chemistry — directly analogous institutional scope to NIMH's combined met-hydro-air quality mandate, operating at substantially larger scale.

Others

• ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts): Intergovernmental organization producing global numerical weather prediction models used by NIMH. Not a direct competitor but a critical upstream data and modeling provider for NIMH's forecasting operations.

Regional players

• Hydrometeorological Service of Serbia (RHMZ): Serbia's national hydrometeorological service, a regional Balkans counterpart with an integrated meteorology, hydrology, and air-quality forecasting mandate parallel to NIMH's structure.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/PrognozataZaVremeto

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Institute Of Meteorology And Hydrology