The Subseasonal Applications for Agriculture and Environment (SAGE) project within the World Weather Research Programme: Making subseasonal predictions more useful for sectoral applications

Subseasonal forecasts are routinely produced by different prediction centers around the globe, offering actionable lead time for decisions across climate-sensitive sectors. However, the uptake of these forecasts is still limited. We argue that this gap persists not because of a single barrier but because of a set of obstacles: insufficient understanding of how and where subseasonal information enters real decision processes; limited knowledge of when forecasts can be trusted; weak methods for communicating and incorporating uncertainty into operational workflows; and few demonstrated success stories linking forecast use to improved outcomes. In this Perspective, we synthesize the evidence accumulated during the Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Prediction (S2S) Project and identify the critical gaps that limit the transition from prediction science to climate services, and present the research-and-implementation agenda of SAGE (Subseasonal Applications for Agriculture and Environment), a five-year project under the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP). SAGE prioritizes user needs to advance in the understanding on how and where information at subseasonal timescales is and can be used. We outline key scientific questions for the broader community, describe the phased research plan and its expected outcomes. SAGE encourages the entire community of scientists and practitioners to contribute to this agenda.

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Publication Details

Journal
Climate Services
Published
2026-07-24
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cliser.2026.100693
Primary Topic
Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

The Subseasonal Applications for Agriculture and Environment (SAGE) project within the World Weather Research Programme: Making subseasonal predictions more useful for sectoral applications

Kunio Yoneyama, Juan Bazo, Nico Caltabiano, A. K. Sahai et al.
Climate Services
Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations
article

The Subseasonal Applications for Agriculture and Environment (SAGE) project within the World Weather Research Programme: Making subseasonal predictions more useful for sectoral applications

Kunio Yoneyama, Juan Bazo, Nico Caltabiano, A. K. Sahai, Víctor Marchezini, Rachel Lowe, Roger Stone, Steven J. Woolnough, Marisol Osman, Yuhei Takaya, Ziqiang Han, P. Mukhopadhyay, Cristiana Stan, Dewald van Niekerk, Masilin Gudoshava, Shipra Jain, Emma Doyle, Arun Kumar, Estelle De Coning
article en

Abstract

Subseasonal forecasts are routinely produced by different prediction centers around the globe, offering actionable lead time for decisions across climate-sensitive sectors. However, the uptake of these forecasts is still limited. We argue that this gap persists not because of a single barrier but because of a set of obstacles: insufficient understanding of how and where subseasonal information enters real decision processes; limited knowledge of when forecasts can be trusted; weak methods for communicating and incorporating uncertainty into operational workflows; and few demonstrated success stories linking forecast use to improved outcomes. In this Perspective, we synthesize the evidence accumulated during the Subseasonal-to-Seasonal Prediction (S2S) Project and identify the critical gaps that limit the transition from prediction science to climate services, and present the research-and-implementation agenda of SAGE (Subseasonal Applications for Agriculture and Environment), a five-year project under the World Weather Research Programme (WWRP). SAGE prioritizes user needs to advance in the understanding on how and where information at subseasonal timescales is and can be used. We outline key scientific questions for the broader community, describe the phased research plan and its expected outcomes. SAGE encourages the entire community of scientists and practitioners to contribute to this agenda.

Climate ServicesVol. 43
Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ES), Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JP), World Meteorological Organization (CH), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR), George Mason University (US), National University of Singapore (SG), University of Southern Queensland (AU), Universidad de Buenos Aires (AR), North-West University (ZA), Barcelona Supercomputing Center (ES), Japan Meteorological Agency (JP), Ashoka University (IN), Centro Nacional de Monitoramento e Alertas de Desastres Naturais (BR), London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB), Global Science & Technology (United States) (US), Collaboration for Australian Weather and Climate Research (AU), National Centre for Atmospheric Science (GB), Climate Centre (NL), IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Center (KE), National University Health System (SG), Instituto Franco-Argentino sobre Estudios de Clima y sus Impactos (AR), Systemic Risk Centre (GB), Meteorological Research Institute (JP), University College London (GB), Massey University (NZ), Fundación Ciencias Exactas y Naturales (AR), University of Reading (GB), Chinese Academy of Governance (CN), James Cook University (AU), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (ES)
World Meteorological Organization
Zero hunger
Openalex Percentile: Top 12%
Meteorological Phenomena and Simulations
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