Previously established pandemic models have provided mixed results for tracking and forecasting the trajectory of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2). Thus, improved approaches for modeling SARS-CoV-2 should involve risk communication, data exchange, international comparisons, and model development.
By adapting methods and insights from a field where modeling accuracy is crucial, such as weather and climate, the disease-modeling community can improve its ability to prepare for future outbreaks. Climate modeling, for example, comprises an international comparison of models and standardized testing, which currently does not exist for pandemic models.
In weather and climate modeling, data sharing is needed immediately. Since the 1960s, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has organized homogenized real-time international data exchanges that can be used as an exemplar for the World Health Organization (WHO).
