The use and international exchange of meteorological data requires agreement on such items as (a) the timeliness, accuracy, and resolution of the observations; (b) the technical and operational aspects of meteorological telecommunications; (c) the input needs and product outputs of the data processing systems; and (d) educational and training standards.

The acceptance internationally of definitions, standards, technical requirements, and operational procedures by the meteorological services of the world is the result of innumerable meetings, negotiations, renegotiations, and compromises through both official and unofficial channels.

The focus for this activity is the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a United Nations specialized agency, which operates through its four major meteorological and operational hydrological programs.

The World Weather Watch program provides the basic information used by the meteorological services to make weather forecasts, as well as to provide climatological and other data to their users. Standards and definitions relating to all aspects of this data must be agreed to in the four official WMO languages by the international meteorological community.