Organization

Policy and Resources consists of four units which together are responsible for a range of tasks relating to the framework that supports DMI’s core activities:

Policy, Strategy and the Executive Secretariat handles cross-cutting strategic and policy tasks, with an external focus towards policymakers and society, and an internal focus towards DMI’s executive management and senior leadership. The unit consists of two parts: Policy and Strategy, which coordinates and produces DMI’s casework for the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities (KEFM) and the Minister, manages day-to-day dialogue with the ministry, and helps ensure that DMI contributes in relevant political and international contexts. The Executive Secretariat supports and advises the Executive Management and acts as a link to the rest of the organisation. The Secretariat maintains an overview of the Executive Management’s activities and many cross-cutting processes at DMI, including strategy development and implementation. Overall, the unit strengthens DMI’s professional, strategic and policy impact.

HR contributes to an attractive workplace through effective HR processes and initiatives that develop DMI’s employees, managers and organisation. This includes recruitment, working environment, employment law, pay negotiations, analyses, organisational development, leadership development, competency programmes and wellbeing, among other areas.

In Risk Management and Compliance, generalists and specialists work with compliance with external requirements such as cyber and information security, GDPR, and risk management. They help interpret rules and build processes for managing them. They also advise on records management and archiving, and provide legal support for contracts, data processing agreements, access-to-information requests, and more.

Finances manages DMI’s complex finances. Here, controllers and bookkeepers work with financial management across both areas funded through the national budget and fee-based services, as well as grant-funded research and activities.

Weather and Warnings consists of four units and an emergency preparedness team which together help to serve society with meteorological knowledge and data on weather, climate and water across the Kingdom of Denmark and the surrounding seas and airspace. The tasks span weather, climate and water — from issuing forecasts and warnings of hazardous weather, advising emergency management stakeholders during severe events, to producing ice information for Greenland and issuing marine forecasts for the seas around Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Arctic Weather and Ice Services supports Greenlandic society and civil aviation around the clock with forecasts and warnings from the Weather Services in Nuuk and Copenhagen. The Ice Service in Copenhagen produces information on sea ice and ice charts for the waters around Greenland, supporting safe navigation in Greenlandic waters and safe travel on the ice. The unit advises Arctic Command and produces a range of specialist products for the Danish Defence’s activities around Greenland and the Faroe Islands.

Defence Weather and Warnings supports the Danish Defence with meteorological advice and briefings around the clock from the weather services in Karup and Skrydstrup. It also delivers a range of specialised meteorological products in connection with exercises and missions.

Public Weather and Warnings delivers forecasts and warnings around the clock to the public, civil aviation and emergency management stakeholders. For civil aviation, specialist forecasts and warnings are prepared. The unit advises public authorities, infrastructure operators, emergency services and other stakeholders for whom weather plays a significant role. Duty managers are in ongoing dialogue with the media about the day’s and week’s weather and issue warnings of hazardous conditions, including storms and elevated sea levels, flooding, hurricanes, cloudbursts, heavy rain, icy conditions and fog.

Projects and Development manages the planning and delivery of operational and development activities in the department, including coordination of cross-cutting projects at DMI. The unit also supports the management of Weather and Warnings with secretariat and finance functions.

The Emergency Preparedness Team is the link to Denmark’s national emergency management system. The team manages the dialogue with national and local emergency management stakeholders on hazardous weather and represents DMI in the National Operational Staff (NOST). The team is also responsible for DMI’s internal emergency preparedness and crisis management, including emergency exercises.

IT and Observations is responsible for the operation, development and maintenance of DMI’s observation infrastructure, which collects meteorological observations across the Kingdom of Denmark. In addition, the department develops and ensures stable and robust operation of DMI’s network, servers, supercomputer and IT workstations. The department consists of three units and a secretariat:

Support and Network provides IT support to internal and external users and is responsible, among other things, for installation and configuration of hardware as well as maintenance of hardware, networks and IT equipment. They also ensure IT equipment is issued to new employees. The weather never takes a day off, and neither does Support and Network: they provide 24/7 monitoring and support of DMI’s systems.

In Observation infrastructure, we work to provide meteorological observations across the Kingdom of Denmark. We develop and operate all types of meteorological measurement systems on land, at sea and in the air — from simple rain gauges to complex weather radar systems and radiosonde stations in Greenland. We actively participate in international observation collaborations and work on implementing new standards from the World Meteorological Organisation.

Supercomputer and IT platforms ensures stable IT operations and manages the platforms that enable weather forecast calculations and climate data processing. The unit handles data exchange with meteorological networks and satellite operators, and the storage and publication of DMI’s extensive data holdings.

The IT Secretariat supports the two departments IT and Observations and Data and Digitization with various finance and generalist tasks, including drafting notes, meeting planning, coordinating orders, budget and finance tasks, and project management.

Data and Digitization supports both internal and external users and partners with data, digital solutions and advice. In the department we work across units and together with DMI’s other departments. The department consists of three units:

Applications, Radar and Satellite Data designs, develops and operates DMI’s digital solutions — from the website dmi.dk, to our meteorologists’ work platform, to specialised applications. We receive, process and distribute radar and satellite data, used internally at DMI in our models and digital solutions and shared externally with partners, including via DMI’s Free Data.

Climatology, Data, Exchange and Data Quality receives, processes, transforms, stores and distributes observation data from DMI’s own observation network and other sources. The data are used internally at DMI, displayed on dmi.dk, and shared with other organisations and via DMI’s Free Data. A core task for DMI is to monitor the climate and its development in Denmark and Greenland. This task is carried out by DMI’s climatologists who, based on raw weather observations, produce authoritative climate data for a wide range of parameters at hourly, daily, monthly and annual resolution, as well as 10-year reference values and 30-year climate normals.

Advisory Services and Customers supports both internal and external users, customers and partners with data, digital solutions, collaboration and advice. We work to make DMI’s services and data accessible and reliable for customers and other users of weather data and products, including through DMI’s Free Data. Together, we ensure everything from stable operation and development of IT solutions, to nurturing relationships and collaboration with our partners, as well as direct contact when you call DMI.

Weather Research conducts operational research and develops models, data and products in close collaboration with on-duty meteorologists as well as national and international partners. The department comprises three units and a secretariat:

Flooding and Hydrology develops models, operational products and data solutions that support society’s need for knowledge about water and flooding. The unit works in a research-based and cross-disciplinary way with hydrology, flood warning and the interaction between water, weather and climate.

Weather Models is responsible for research and development of the weather models underpinning DMI’s forecasts, both on dmi.dk and in our app. This includes both traditional numerical models and newer models based on machine learning and artificial intelligence. We collaborate closely with other international meteorological institutions to ensure our weather models are among the best.

Ocean and Dispersion Modeling conducts research and development across a suite of models aimed at improving (1) short-term forecasts and warnings of extremes, (2) products and estimates on climate timescales, and (3) dispersion calculations for harmful substances. The main geographic focus areas are Denmark, Europe and Greenland, and partners range across Danish and international stakeholders and authorities. The unit’s work spans both the oceanographic domain (circulation, sea level, waves and dispersion) and the atmospheric domain (dispersion of, for example, pollution).

The Secretariat drives and supports cross-cutting processes, activities and administration so that Weather Research can best deliver its core tasks.

The National Centre for Climate Research (NCKF) conducts climate science research and provides advice on climate change. NCKF is a national centre that produces and consolidates knowledge about the climate. It supports DMI’s role as the government’s climate science adviser and focuses on underpinning public-authority advice. Both research and advisory work are carried out in close collaboration with Danish and international partners such as EUMETSAT, ESA and the EU Copernicus programme. NCKF comprises four units:

Global Climate has expertise in both global climate modelling and satellite monitoring of the atmosphere, including the Arctic and the North Atlantic (including the AMOC), and the role of ice sheets in the climate system. Advanced model calculations of climate, ocean and sea ice underpin projections of climate change in both the near and distant future, and also provide knowledge about the waters around Greenland and the Arctic for DMI’s operational weather service.

Climate in Denmark and Greenland has expertise in regional-scale climate, with a primary focus on Denmark and Greenland, but also on Antarctica and Africa. Regional climate models and statistical analyses are the unit’s primary tools for producing detailed projections of future climate for the benefit of society. These calculations, among other things, underpin DMI’s Climate Atlas, a climate service that supports climate adaptation across Denmark.

Melt from the large ice sheets in both Greenland and Antarctica also receives significant attention, as it is crucial for future sea level in Denmark. The unit also has a growing focus on climate change in Africa, having contributed to the development of a climate atlas for Ghana in collaboration with the Ghana Meteorological Agency.

Satellites and the Arctic uses satellite observations for research and for monitoring Denmark and the Arctic. The unit observes climate change in the ocean and sea ice in the Arctic and produces daily products for the benefit of citizens in Denmark and Greenland. The products are also used to improve the quality of ocean, ice and weather models and in DMI’s ice service.

Secretariat, Projects and Climate consultancy supports the development of climate science at DMI and works actively to strengthen both the use and influence of this knowledge through knowledge-sharing with the Danish Government, society and the international research community. The unit works with project management, management support, ministerial support, stakeholder engagement, partnerships and communications. In addition, through SOFF and SSC, the unit works to strengthen the capacity of the world’s most vulnerable countries to adapt to climate change and forecast extreme weather.

The unit is responsible for communicating DMI’s knowledge clearly and credibly — both internally and externally. We handle press enquiries, run news and content on dmi.dk and social media, and ensure that DMI’s professional messages reach citizens, authorities and partners. We also advise the organisation on strategic communication, crisis communication and effective communication approaches, so that DMI stands strong — both day to day and in situations involving hazardous weather.