Paolo
LAJ

Paolo Laj is currently serving as the Head of the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Programme in the Science & Innovation Department of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). GAW coordinates global efforts to monitor, forecast, and use atmospheric composition data to inform policies on climate, air quality, and public health.

He has been deeply involved in sustaining in-situ observation networks, ensuring data quality and interoperability for climate- and air-quality-relevant assessments. Before joining WMO in 2024, he was a senior scientist at Université Grenoble Alpes (France) and a visiting professor at the University of Helsinki (Finland). He played a key role in ACTRIS (Aerosol, Cloud and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure) in Europe, contributing to its conception, preparation, and implementation through various research infrastructure phases. His scientific expertise lies in atmospheric composition—especially aerosols, clouds, and reactive trace gases—and their interactions with climate and air quality. He has published more than 170 peer-reviewed papers on these topics.