As the importance of responding to natural disasters caused by climate change grows, Incheon City and the Seoul Metropolitan Area Meteorological Administration are launching a permanent communication channel to facilitate close cooperation in disaster prevention.

Incheon Metropolitan City announced on the 7th that it established a “Working-Level Consultative Committee” at the Seoul Metropolitan Area Meteorological Administration in Suwon to strengthen cooperation on policies related to weather and climate, as well as to respond to hazardous weather conditions such as heavy snow, cold waves, heat waves, torrential rain, and typhoons, and held its first meeting.

This council was established in response to the sharp increase in hazardous weather events in the Incheon area due to climate change, with the aim of further systematizing the existing cooperation framework between the two organizations and proactively preparing for natural disasters such as heavy snowfall and cold waves this coming winter.

Key operational officials from both organizations will serve as co-chairs of the newly established Working-Level Council to enhance its effectiveness. The Seoul Metropolitan Area Meteorological Office will be represented by the heads of the Forecast Division, Observation Division, and Climate Services Division, while Incheon City will be represented by the head of the Natural Disaster Division. Administrative officers and team leaders responsible for each sector will join as working-level members to closely coordinate mutual cooperation strategies.

In particular, during the meeting, the two organizations agreed to establish a dedicated hotline to secure the critical “golden time” for rapid response during hazardous weather events. Utilizing a dedicated communication network, the system will operate via an “automatic connection” mechanism that establishes an immediate link when hazardous weather is forecasted. This is expected to enable immediate and precise situation updates, significantly enhancing the effectiveness of on-site responses.

In addition, the two agencies agreed to continuously share information on policy changes in the fields of meteorology, observation, and climate, and to continue close cooperation across all aspects of disaster prevention meteorology, including the joint use of meteorological observation data, improvements to forecast and special advisory services, and the identification of climate change adaptation initiatives.

The Director of the Incheon City Citizen Safety Headquarters stated, “Through this newly established working-level consultative body, we have further solidified our one-on-one disaster prevention cooperation system with the Seoul Metropolitan Area Meteorological Office,” adding, “Based on close information sharing and the establishment of an automatic connection hotline, we will do our utmost to enhance climate crisis response capabilities throughout Incheon and safeguard the safety of our citizens.”