Last month, experts came together in the UK to assess the future of the Global Climate Observing System. Among them were representatives of the Mountain Research Initiative, who contributed their mountain-focused expertise and highlighted the importance of Essential Climate Variables that are specific to high-elevation regions.
As climate risks accelerate and decision-making increasingly relies on robust, long-term data, the systems that observe Earth’s climate are under growing scrutiny. In February 2026, scientists and experts from around the world convened at the European Space Agency’s European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications in Harwell, United Kingdom, for the fourth GCOS-WGClimate Joint Panels Meeting.
The meeting brought together representatives from space agencies, research institutes, observing networks, and international organisations to assess how well the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) is functioning. Discussions focused on identifying gaps and vulnerabilities in long-term observations, ensuring continuity of critical data streams, and defining priorities for the years ahead.
A Mountain Perspective
The Mountain Research Initiative (MRI) was represented by Prof. Maria Shahgedanova, lead of the MRI Mountain Observatories Working Group, and Dr. Nick Pepin, lead of the MRI Elevation-Dependent Climate Change Working Group.
Together, they contributed to discussions on the role of mountains in the global climate system and assessed gaps in the coverage for each essential climate variable from a mountain perspective. Their contribution emphasised the need to better integrate mountain observations into global monitoring efforts.
Why Mountain ECVs Matter
Mountain regions remain underrepresented in many global datasets, despite their critical importance for water resources, biodiversity, and climate sensitivity. Strengthening the monitoring of Mountain ECVs is essential to better understand how climate change unfolds across elevation gradients.
Improved observations can help capture key processes specific to mountains – such as snow cover dynamics, cryospheric changes, and elevation-dependent climate trends – ensuring that global datasets more accurately reflect these complex environments.
Addressing Gaps and Opportunities in the Observing System
A central theme of the meeting was the fragility of existing observation systems. Participants highlighted challenges such as ageing infrastructure, funding pressures, and dependencies on a limited number of institutions, all of which can threaten long-term data continuity.
At the same time, new satellite technologies, advances in data processing, and the growing commercial space sector are creating opportunities to strengthen and expand global observation capabilities.
Collaboration as a Shared Responsibility
What set the Harwell meeting apart was its emphasis on collaboration across traditionally separate communities. Experts from satellite missions, in-situ observing networks, research programmes, operational services, and data centres stepped back to evaluate the observing system as an interconnected whole.
This perspective recognises climate observation as a shared public good – one that depends on sustained international cooperation, especially in a context of shifting political priorities and funding landscapes. The MRI’s representation at this event reinforced the importance of ensuring that mountain regions, too, are fully represented in these global efforts.