Jana Sillmann ^1,2* Tim Raupach ^3,4,5 Kirsten L. Findell ⁶ Markus Donat ^7,8 Lincoln Muniz Alves ⁹ Lisa Alexander ^4,5 Leonard Borchert ¹⁰ Pablo Borges de Amorim ¹¹ Carlo Buontempo ¹² Erich Markus Fischer ¹³ Christian L.E. Franzke ^14,15 Bin Guan ¹⁶ Marjolijn Haasnoot ^17,18 Ed Hawkins ¹⁹ Daniela Jacob ²⁰ Roché Mahon ²¹ Douglas Maraun ²² Monica Ainhorn Morrison ²³ Benjamin Poschlod ¹⁰ Alex C Ruane ²⁴ Shampa Shampa ²⁵ Tannecia Stephenson ²⁶ Narelle van der Wel ²⁷ Zhuo Wang ²⁸ Xuebin Zhang ²⁹ Josipa Zupanic ¹⁰

• ¹ Research Unit Sustainability and Climate Risk, Department of Earth System Sciences, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
• ² Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO), Oslo, Norway
• ³ UNSW Institute for Climate Risk and Response, Sydney, Australia
• ⁴ Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes (CLEX), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• ⁵ Climate Change Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
• ⁶ NOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, Princeton, United States
• ⁷ Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
• ⁸ Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA), Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
• ⁹ Southern Regional Center for Space Research, National Institute for Space Research (CRS/INPE), Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil
• ¹⁰ Research Unit Sustainability and Climate Risks, Department of Earth System Sciences, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
• ¹¹ Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Brasília, Brazil
• ¹² European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, Reading, United Kingdom
• ¹³ ETH Zürich, Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
• ¹⁴ Center for Climate Physics, Institute for Basic Science, Busan, Republic of Korea
• ¹⁵ Pusan National University, Busan, Busan, Republic of Korea
• ¹⁶ Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering, College of Physical Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States
• ¹⁷ Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands, Netherlands
• ¹⁸ Deltares (Netherlands), Delft, Netherlands
• ¹⁹ National Centre for Atmospheric Science, Department of Meteorology, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
• ²⁰ Climate Service Center Germany (GERICS), Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
• ²¹ Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology, St. James, Barbados
• ²² University of Graz, Graz, Styria, Austria
• ²³ Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), Boulder, Colorado, United States
• ²⁴ Goddard Institute for Space Studies (NASA), New York, New York, United States
• ²⁵ Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• ²⁶ University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston, Jamaica
• ²⁷ World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
• ²⁸ University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States
• ²⁹ Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

The World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) envisions a future where actionable climate information is universally accessible, supporting decision makers in preparing for and responding to climate change. In this perspective, we advocate for enhancing links between climate science and decision-making through a better and more decision-relevant understanding of climate impacts. The proposed framework comprises three pillars: climate science, impact science, and decision-making, focusing on generating seamless climate information from sub-seasonal, seasonal, decadal to century timescales informed by historical climate events and their impacts. The link between climate science and decision-making has strengthened in recent years, partly owing to undeniable impacts arising from disastrous weather extremes. Enhancing decision-relevant understanding involves utilizing lessons from past extreme events and implementing impact-based early warning systems to improve resilience. Integrated risk assessment and management require a comprehensive approach that encompasses good knowledge about possible impacts, hazard identification, monitoring, and communication of risks while acknowledging uncertainties inherent in climate predictions and projections, but not letting the uncertainty lead to decision paralysis. The importance of data accessibility, especially in the Global South, underscores the need for better coordination and resource allocation. Strategic frameworks should aim to enhance impact-related and open-access climate services around the world. Continuous improvements in predictive modeling and observational data are critical, as is ensuring that climate science remains relevant to decision makers locally and globally. Ultimately, fostering stronger collaborations and dedicated investments to process and tailor climate data will enhance societal preparedness, enabling communities to navigate the complexities of a changing climate effectively.