The new Director-General of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), Florian Pappenberger, says collaboration and innovation, with people at the core, are key to the Centre’s success.
Taking up his new role in January 2026, Florian Pappenberger said:
“Genuine collaboration across ECMWF and with our 35 Member and Co-operating States and broader scientific and user community will continue to be at the heart of everything we do. With people as our greatest asset, interdisciplinary collaboration coupled with innovation, especially in our physical models, data assimilation and AI and digital transformation, all supported by world-class high-performance computing, will keep us at the forefront of weather and climate prediction.”
Dr Pappenberger takes up the position of Director-General having been deputy in the role since 2021 and leading the ECMWF’s forecasting operations for almost a decade prior. In his roles to date, Florian has worked closely with the Member and Co-operating States and the wider user community, guiding ECMWF through a period of major change with the operationalisation of the Artificial Intelligence Forecasting System (AIFS) alongside traditional physics-based models.
ECMWF’s Council President, Roar Skålin, commented on the start of Florian’s leadership:
“Florian is exceptionally well placed to lead ECMWF at a time of profound transformation in our field. The rapid advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning are reshaping weather prediction, and ECMWF, together with the national meteorological services, stands at the forefront of this revolution. By pooling expertise across Europe, we are delivering the next generation of forecasting capability rooted in physics-based expertise, delivering technological innovation through the power of human collaboration.
“Florian’s appointment reflects a renewed commitment to the core values that define ECMWF: collaboration, scientific excellence, integrity, and service to society. We are confident that under his leadership, ECMWF will continue to strengthen its impact for Member and Co-operating States, deepen the partnerships, and further enhance its role in protecting lives and supporting informed decision-making across Europe and beyond.”
Dr Pappenberger also led ECMWF’s move towards free and open data.
He was involved in the implementation of ECMWF’s contributions to the European Union’s Copernicus Earth Observation programme, and the EU’s Destination Earth initiative. He also contributed to the successful migration of ECMWF’s operational forecasting systems to its new high-performance computing data centre in Bologna, Italy – a strategic investment that underpins the future of both physics‑based and AI‑driven forecasting.
On starting his new position, Dr Pappenberger added: “I am extremely proud to be taking on the role of Director-General, and to build upon the strong foundations already in place. I am excited to be leading ECMWF at such a significant time for forecasting. With the highest standards of scientific rigour, we will continue to bring the best possible benefits to society that forecasting can offer.”