London Economics was commissioned by the Met Office to provide an independent economic evaluation of the UK Met Office.

The benefits of the Met Office’s activities to the UK are substantial. The study identified £56 billion of economic value deriving from the Met Office’s activities over the next decade (2024-20233).  The return of investment estimate of £18.8 of benefits accruing to the UK per £1 of public money invested in the Met Office from the central results is sizeable in comparison to similar estimates of other meteorological services across the world. Moreover, the study highlights the substantial additional benefits of having a ‘world leading’ Met Office over a more ‘basic’ meteorological service.

The study also highlights the substantial non-monetised benefits accruing both to the UK and globally as a result of the Met Office’s activities. This, in combination with the assumptions used in the estimation methodology which caused estimates to be conservative, implies that the true value delivered by the Met Office is even larger than the estimated benefit-to-cost ratio.

London Economics’ Dr Charlotte Duke said: “The study represents a significant advance in our understanding of the benefits of the complex matrix of services the Met Office provides and how it translates cutting edge climate and meteorological science directly into economic wins for the UK”

More detail can be found on the Met Office’s website here.