Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites

The Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) is an international consortium for coordinating meteorological satellite systems. ^[1][2] It was established on 19 September 1972 in Washington, DC, in the context of coordinating geostationary meteorological satellite programmes for the First GARP Global Experiment. ^[3] CGMS coordinates end-to-end meteorological satellite systems from operators to user communities, including operational continuity planning, contingency arrangements for coverage gaps, data access and quality improvement, climate-monitoring virtual constellations, and space weather coordination. ^[2][4] CGMS operates no spacecraft itself; satellite operations remain with member agencies while CGMS provides a non-binding forum with annual plenary sessions and a rolling five-year High-Level Priority Plan. ^[1][2] Its permanent secretariat is hosted by EUMETSAT in Darmstadt, Germany, and recent plenary activity includes CGMS-52 hosted by NOAA. ^[2][5]