Besides these DWD-internal applications, many external users need ICON forecasts as basis for their products. For instance, the regional hydrological offices use the precipitation fields for flood forecasting, and the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency uses wind fields for predicting storm surges. Moreover, more than 30 national weather services, among them those of the COSMO (Consortium for Small-scale Modelling) partners Italy, Poland, Romania, and Russia, and of many developing and emerging countries like Botswana, Brazil, Israel, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Tanzania, United Arabic Emirates, and Vietnam use ICON forecasts as lateral boundary conditions for limited-area forecasts.