The International Conference on Earth Observations and Societal Impacts (ICEO&SI; http://www.iceo-si.org.tw/) is an annual conference sponsored by Taiwan Group on Earth Observations (TGEO; http://tgeo.org.tw/) since 2011. It focuses on the observations of Earth environment, including atmospheric, oceanic, and geophysical research, and healthy environmental conditions for humans, plants, and animals and their societal impacts. It is to promote a broad exchange of information on observations and measurements for global environment and climate change among scientists. The conference attracts over 300 participants from more than 20 countries.

This special issue primarily based on the papers presented in the ICEO&SI 2014 aims to summarize the most recent developments and ideas in the field of meteorology, with a special emphasis given to the technical and observational results obtained within the last decade.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Disasters: reducing the loss of lives and properties from natural or human-induced disasters by enhanced preparation policies and early warning systems
• Energy: improving the management of energy policies and the development of renewable energy and sustainable resources
• Climate: to monitor, understand, and assess various factors for climate variability and to assist in making efficient policies of climate change adaptation
• Water: investigating the influence of water resources distribution and variability of hydrological cycle on the world’s sustainable development
• Weather: enhancing the application of weather informatics in various research fields
• Ecosystems: establishing an integrated monitoring framework of land, coast, and marine to benefit the environment and societal development
• Agriculture/forestry/fishery: achieving the effective management and sustainability in agriculture, forestry, and fishery
• Biodiversity: improving measuring and analysis techniques of biodiversity for protection, reproduction, and balance of global bioresources