Royal Meteorological Society
Encyclopedia
The Royal Meteorological Society traces its origins back to 3 April 1850 when the British Meteorological Society was formed as a society the objects of which should be the advancement and extension of meteorological science by determining the laws of climate and of meteorological phenomena in general. Along with nine others, including James Glaisher
, John Drew
, Edward Joseph Lowe
, The Revd Joseph Bancroft Reade
, and Samuel Charles Whitbread
, Dr John Lee
, an astronomer, of Hartwell House, near Aylesbury
, Buckinghamshire
founded in the library of his house the British Meteorological Society, which became the Royal Meteorological Society. It became The Meteorological Society in 1866, when it was incorporated by Royal Charter
, and the Royal Meteorological Society in 1883, when Her Majesty Queen Victoria
granted the privilege of adding 'Royal' to the title. Along with 74 others, the famous meteorologist Luke Howard
joined the original 15 members of the Society at its first ordinary meeting on 7 May 1850. As of 2008 it has more than 3,000 members worldwide. The Chief Executive of the Society is Professor Paul Hardaker.
There are five different membership levels:
-Associate Fellow
-Fellow
-Honorary member
-School member
-Corporate member
There are Associate Fellows may be any age and do not require any specific expertise in meteorology. Fellows normally require a formal qualification in a subject related to meteorology plus five years experience and must be nominated by two other fellows. Corporate membership of the Society is open to all organisations that wish to support the Society’s charitable objectives, offering an opportunity to show corporate leadership and to play an active role in supporting the Society programme of work. Schools are also welcome to join the Society and there are many benefits available to participating schools. These include borrowing scientific equipment, education and careers resources and access to grants for meteorology projects.
All publications are available online but a subscription is required. However certain "classic" papers are freely available at Classic papers.
The Society recently launched theWeather CLub with the magazine theWeather
Michael Fish, commented on the launch of theWeather Club in September 2010 and said: “In Britain we are bonkers about the weather. Maybe it comes from having such a varied climate. Foreigners certainly seem astonished at how much we obsess about the weather. I can barely walk down the street without someone wanting to have a quick chat about the weather. So I know this club will have a lot of people who want to participate. I for one am signing up!”
Members also receive a quarterly magazine with a seasonal theme, entitled 'theWeather'. The magazine contains a variety of features, news and views as well as science, presented in a non technical way and using stunning photography. In addition to the magazine is a collectable information guide to Meteorology – that builds up over the issues and a welcome pack with membership card and a free Galileo thermometer. Members also have access to the Club website where members are able to participate in weather debates and discussions, join forums, post views, propose ideas, submit images and share their experiences with the weather.
There are also a number of Special Interest Groups which organise meetings and other activities to facilitate exchange of information and views within specific areas of meteorology. These are informal groups of professionals interested in specific technical areas of the profession of meteorology. The groups are primarily a way of communicating at a specialist level.
The current special interest groups are:
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), the Royal Meteorological Society issued an endorsement of the report. In addition to referring to the IPCC as “the world’s best climate scientists”, they stated that climate change is happening as “the result of emissions since industrialisation and we have already set in motion the next 50 years of global warming – what we do from now on will determine how worse it will get.”
James Glaisher
James Glaisher FRS , was an English meteorologist and aeronaut.Born in Rotherhithe, the son of a London watchmaker, Glaisher was a Junior assistant at the Cambridge Observatory from 1833 to 1835 before moving to the Royal Greenwich Observatories, where he served as Superintendent of the Department...
, John Drew
John Drew (astronomer)
-Early life and education:Drew was born at Bower Chalke, Wiltshire, in 1809. His father died when Drew was only a year old. Drew was self-educated. He was so successful at this that by the age of fifteen he was prepared to teach professionally. He spent two years as an assistant in a school at...
, Edward Joseph Lowe
Edward Joseph Lowe
Edward Joseph Lowe FRS FGS FRAS FLS was a renowned English botanist, who published papers on a wide variety of subjects, including meteorology, luminous meteors, sunspots, the zodiacal light, meteorological observations during the eclipse of 1860 at Fuente del Mar, near Santander, conchology,...
, The Revd Joseph Bancroft Reade
Joseph Bancroft Reade
Rev. Joseph Bancroft Reade FRS was an English clergyman, amateur scientist and pioneer of photography.-Early life:...
, and Samuel Charles Whitbread
Samuel Charles Whitbread
Samuel Charles Whitbread was a British Member of Parliament and member of the Whitbread brewing family.He was the son of Samuel Whitbread. He represented the constituency of Middlesex and was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1831.His interests were astronomy and meteorology...
, Dr John Lee
John Lee (astronomer)
John Lee LL.D , born John Fiott, was an English philanthropist, astronomer, mathematician, antiquarian and barrister.-Family:...
, an astronomer, of Hartwell House, near Aylesbury
Aylesbury
Aylesbury is the county town of Buckinghamshire in South East England. However the town also falls into a geographical region known as the South Midlands an area that ecompasses the north of the South East, and the southern extremities of the East Midlands...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
founded in the library of his house the British Meteorological Society, which became the Royal Meteorological Society. It became The Meteorological Society in 1866, when it was incorporated by Royal Charter
Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal document issued by a monarch as letters patent, granting a right or power to an individual or a body corporate. They were, and are still, used to establish significant organizations such as cities or universities. Charters should be distinguished from warrants and...
, and the Royal Meteorological Society in 1883, when Her Majesty Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
granted the privilege of adding 'Royal' to the title. Along with 74 others, the famous meteorologist Luke Howard
Luke Howard
Luke Howard FRS was a British manufacturing chemist and an amateur meteorologist with broad interests in science...
joined the original 15 members of the Society at its first ordinary meeting on 7 May 1850. As of 2008 it has more than 3,000 members worldwide. The Chief Executive of the Society is Professor Paul Hardaker.
Mission
Advancing the understanding of weather and climate, the science and its applications, for the benefit of all.Membership
Anyone with a genuine interest in the weather, its impact or the science behind it, or in the interface with related disciplines, such as hydrology and oceanography can join the Society. The Society is made up of weather enthusiasts, practitioners, students and scientists from across the world.There are five different membership levels:
-Associate Fellow
-Fellow
-Honorary member
-School member
-Corporate member
There are Associate Fellows may be any age and do not require any specific expertise in meteorology. Fellows normally require a formal qualification in a subject related to meteorology plus five years experience and must be nominated by two other fellows. Corporate membership of the Society is open to all organisations that wish to support the Society’s charitable objectives, offering an opportunity to show corporate leadership and to play an active role in supporting the Society programme of work. Schools are also welcome to join the Society and there are many benefits available to participating schools. These include borrowing scientific equipment, education and careers resources and access to grants for meteorology projects.
Benefits of membership
Both Fellows and Associate Fellows receive the monthly magazine Weather. They may also attend, free of charge, meetings arranged by the Society and are eligible for travel and conference bursaries and to be proposed for awards and prizes. Fellowship of the Society is a formal statement of professional competence and those elected to it are entitled to use the title Fellow of the Royal Meteorological Society (FRMetS). Both Associate Fellows and Fellows can vote at the Annual General Meeting and Special General Meetings. Members of the Society also have the opportunity to become involved in the many varied and interesting areas of work of the Society.Programmes of work
The Society has a very broad programme of work including:- developing education resources for primary and secondary schools and for teacher CPDContinuing Professional DevelopmentContinuing professional development or Continuing professional education is the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives.-CPD research:...
- promoting public engagement and dialogue on weather and climate science
- providing evidence-based policy support to Government
- encouraging continuing professional development (through NVQNational Vocational QualificationNational Vocational Qualifications are work based awards in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that are achieved through assessment and training. In Scotland they are known as Scottish Vocational Qualification ....
/SVQScottish Vocational QualificationA Scottish Vocational Qualification, or SVQ, is a certificate of vocational education in Scotland. SVQs are available to people of all ages. SVQs are developed by Sector Skills Councils, in partnership with industry and awarding bodies...
) and offering professional accreditation as a Chartered Meteorologist (CMet) - awarding grants and bursaries to young scientists working in meteorology
- recognising excellence through the programme of international awards and prizes
- developing quality standards for meteorological service providers
- publishing five international science journals
- a comprehensive national meetings and conference programme
Meetings and conference programme
The Society holds monthly National meetings, usually held on Wednesday afternoons, with a variety of topics throughout the year. The meeetings are open to all and more information on the meetings topics can be found here. Audio and presentations are held for the archive of past meetings and are available on the website. All day Saturday meetings are held periodically throughout the year, and are open to members, non-members and the general public.The society's journals
The society has a number of regular publications:- Weather: a monthly magazine with many full colour illustrations and photos for specialists and general readers with an interest in meteorology. It uses a minimum of mathematics and technical language.
- The Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society: as one of the world's leading journals for meteorology publishes original research in the atmopheric sciences. There are eight issues per year.
- Meteorological Applications: this is a journal for applied meteorologists, forecasters and users of meteorological services and has been published since 1994. It is aimed at a general readership and authors are asked to take this into account when preparing papers.
- International Journal of Climatology: has 15 issues a year and covers a broad spectrum of research in climatology.
- Atmospheric Science Letters: an electronic only publication for short communication.
All publications are available online but a subscription is required. However certain "classic" papers are freely available at Classic papers.
The Society recently launched theWeather CLub with the magazine theWeather
theWeather Club
theWeather Club is a charitable organisation established by the Society in 2010. It forms the basis of their public outreach programme, and promotes an appreciation and understanding of the weather with an emphasis on educating the public, especially children, about weather and climate. The club is the first membership organisation to be launched in the UK that brings the general public together in order to share their fascination with the weather.The Great British Weather Experiment 2010
The Great British Weather Experiment was launched on 13 September 2010 by theWeather Club and the Royal Meteorological Society. The experiment aimed to track the onset of autumn across the British Isles by asking schools and members of the public to take weather observations over the course of a month and record them at theWeatherClub.org.uk. This was one of the largest weather experiments in Britain, with over 2,000 observations collected between 13 September and 13 October. theWeather Club toured the UK, visiting 16 cities in 8 days with Graham Smith from WeatherEvents.net getting schools and the general public involved in taking measurements. The results proved how variable the season can be with 100 mph winds, balmy Indian Summer days, torrential rain and thick fog all observed throughout the month.Celebrity Ambassadors and Testimonials
theWeather Club currently has two celebrity ambassadors, who have been highly involved in meteorological and environmental work throughout their careers- they are legendary weatherman Michael Fish and Coast presenter Nick Crane.Michael Fish, commented on the launch of theWeather Club in September 2010 and said: “In Britain we are bonkers about the weather. Maybe it comes from having such a varied climate. Foreigners certainly seem astonished at how much we obsess about the weather. I can barely walk down the street without someone wanting to have a quick chat about the weather. So I know this club will have a lot of people who want to participate. I for one am signing up!”
Benefits of membership of theWeather Club
theWeather Club is open to anyone and everyone who has an interest in the weather and the world around them. Profits from theWeather Club are used to help meet the charitable aims of the Royal Meteorological Society, with an emphasis on education.Members also receive a quarterly magazine with a seasonal theme, entitled 'theWeather'. The magazine contains a variety of features, news and views as well as science, presented in a non technical way and using stunning photography. In addition to the magazine is a collectable information guide to Meteorology – that builds up over the issues and a welcome pack with membership card and a free Galileo thermometer. Members also have access to the Club website where members are able to participate in weather debates and discussions, join forums, post views, propose ideas, submit images and share their experiences with the weather.
Local Centres and Special Interest Groups
The society has several Local Centres across the UK.There are also a number of Special Interest Groups which organise meetings and other activities to facilitate exchange of information and views within specific areas of meteorology. These are informal groups of professionals interested in specific technical areas of the profession of meteorology. The groups are primarily a way of communicating at a specialist level.
The current special interest groups are:
- Association of British ClimatologistsClimatologyClimatology is the study of climate, scientifically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of time, and is a branch of the atmospheric sciences...
- Atmospheric ChemistryAtmospheric chemistryAtmospheric chemistry is a branch of atmospheric science in which the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere and that of other planets is studied. It is a multidisciplinary field of research and draws on environmental chemistry, physics, meteorology, computer modeling, oceanography, geology and...
- Data AssimilationData assimilationApplications of data assimilation arise in many fields of geosciences, perhaps most importantly in weather forecasting and hydrology. Data assimilation proceeds by analysis cycles...
- Dynamical Problems
- History of Meteorology and Physical OceanographyPhysical oceanographyPhysical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters.Physical oceanography is one of several sub-domains into which oceanography is divided...
- Meterorological Observing Systems
- Physical Processes
- SatelliteSatelliteIn the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
Meteorology and Oceanography - Weather ForecastingWeather forecastingWeather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
- Weather Service Providers
Presidents
A full list of those who have served as president of the society is included in the society's web site. A partial list is presented below:Endorsement of IPCC
In February 2007, after the release of the Fourth Assessment ReportIPCC Fourth Assessment Report
Climate Change 2007, the Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for...
of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body which provides comprehensive assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risk of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental and...
(IPCC), the Royal Meteorological Society issued an endorsement of the report. In addition to referring to the IPCC as “the world’s best climate scientists”, they stated that climate change is happening as “the result of emissions since industrialisation and we have already set in motion the next 50 years of global warming – what we do from now on will determine how worse it will get.”
Other related links
- List of atmospheric dispersion models
- UK Dispersion Modelling BureauUK Dispersion Modelling BureauThe UK Dispersion Modelling Bureau is part of the Met Office which is the UK's national weather and meteorological service...
- Met OfficeMet OfficeThe Met Office , is the United Kingdom's national weather service, and a trading fund of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills...
- MetLinkInternationalMetLinkInternationalMetLinkInternational is an internet-based project of the Royal Meteorological Society in the United Kingdom, in which the participants make and exchange weather observations by means of an online database and, with the help and guidance of meteorological professionals, analyse and interpret the...