The World Meteorological Organization has voted for Argentina's Celeste Saulo to become its first woman leader and steer the WMO's critical global role in tracking climate change.

Saulo, a WMO vice-president who has headed Argentina's weather service since 2014, won a landslide vote at the United Nations climate and weather agency's congress in Geneva.

The new woman leader said after her election that in times when inequality and climate change are the greatest global threats, the WMO must contribute to strengthening the meteorological and hydrological services to protect populations and their economies.

She further noted that her ambition is to lead the WMO towards a scenario where the voice of all members is heard equally, and prioritize the vulnerable.

"In these times when inequality and climate change are the greatest global threats, the WMO must contribute to strengthening the meteorological and hydrological services to protect populations and their economies, providing timely and effective services and early warning systems," Saulo said following her election.

"My ambition is to lead the WMO towards a scenario in which the voice of all members is heard equally, prioritising those most vulnerable and in which the actions it undertakes are aligned with the needs and particularities of each one of them."

Saulo will take over from the outgoing secretary-general Petteri Taalas 1^st January at the end of his maximum second four-year term.

The leadership election was held on the penultimate day of the World Meteorological Congress, the general assembly of WMO's 193 member states and territories, which takes place every four years.

The congress, which opened on May 22, voted to ensure that everyone on the planet is covered by early warning systems for hazardous weather events by the end of 2027.

It approved a new initiative aimed at boosting global greenhouse gas monitoring through an integrated system of space- and surface-based observations.