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World Meteorological Organization
 
 
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The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 188 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization
International Meteorological Organization

Although there had been significant developments in meteorology in the 18th century, Matthew Fontaine Maury, of the US Navy, was instrumental in convening the first true International Meteorological Organization held in Brussels, Belgium on August 23, 1853....
 (IMO), which was founded in 1873. Established in 1950, WMO became the specialised agency of the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 for meteorology
Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting . Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the eighteenth century....
 (weather
Weather

Weather is a set of all the Phenomenon occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the hydrosphere and troposphere....
 and climate
Climate

Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other Meteorology elements in a given region over long periods of time, as opposed to the term weather, which refers to current activity of these same elements....
), operational hydrology
Hydrology

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources....
 and related geophysical sciences
Geophysics

Geophysics, a major discipline of the Earth sciences, is the study of the Earth by the quantitative observation of its physical properties, especially by Seismology, Electromagnetism, Radioactive decay, galvanic and potential field methods....
. It has its headquarters in Geneva
Geneva

Geneva is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie . Situated where the Rh?ne River exits Lake Geneva , it is the capital of the Canton of Geneva....
, Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
. The current president is Alexander Bedritsky and the current Secretary-General is Michel Jarraud.

In June 1976, in response to press reports predicting an event similar to the Little Ice Age
Little Ice Age

The Little Ice Age was a period of cooling occurring after a warmer North Atlantic era known as the Medieval Warm Period or Medieval Climate Optimum....
, the World Meteorological Organization issued a warning that a very significant warming of global climate
Global warming

Global warming is the increase in the Instrumental temperature record of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation....
 was probable.

WMO in brief
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations.






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The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 188 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization
International Meteorological Organization

Although there had been significant developments in meteorology in the 18th century, Matthew Fontaine Maury, of the US Navy, was instrumental in convening the first true International Meteorological Organization held in Brussels, Belgium on August 23, 1853....
 (IMO), which was founded in 1873. Established in 1950, WMO became the specialised agency of the United Nations
United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, Social change, human rights and achieving world peace....
 for meteorology
Meteorology

Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting . Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the eighteenth century....
 (weather
Weather

Weather is a set of all the Phenomenon occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the hydrosphere and troposphere....
 and climate
Climate

Climate encompasses the temperatures, humidity, atmospheric pressure, winds, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other Meteorology elements in a given region over long periods of time, as opposed to the term weather, which refers to current activity of these same elements....
), operational hydrology
Hydrology

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water throughout the Earth, and thus addresses both the hydrologic cycle and water resources....
 and related geophysical sciences
Geophysics

Geophysics, a major discipline of the Earth sciences, is the study of the Earth by the quantitative observation of its physical properties, especially by Seismology, Electromagnetism, Radioactive decay, galvanic and potential field methods....
. It has its headquarters in Geneva
Geneva

Geneva is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie . Situated where the Rh?ne River exits Lake Geneva , it is the capital of the Canton of Geneva....
, Switzerland
Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
. The current president is Alexander Bedritsky and the current Secretary-General is Michel Jarraud.

In June 1976, in response to press reports predicting an event similar to the Little Ice Age
Little Ice Age

The Little Ice Age was a period of cooling occurring after a warmer North Atlantic era known as the Medieval Warm Period or Medieval Climate Optimum....
, the World Meteorological Organization issued a warning that a very significant warming of global climate
Global warming

Global warming is the increase in the Instrumental temperature record of the Earth's near-surface air and the oceans since the mid-twentieth century and its projected continuation....
 was probable.

WMO in brief


The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.

WMO has a membership of 188 member states and territories (since Jan. 24, 2007). Established in 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations in 1951 for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization
International Meteorological Organization

Although there had been significant developments in meteorology in the 18th century, Matthew Fontaine Maury, of the US Navy, was instrumental in convening the first true International Meteorological Organization held in Brussels, Belgium on August 23, 1853....
 (IMO), which was founded in 1873.

As weather, climate and the water cycle know no national boundaries, international cooperation at a global scale is essential for the development of meteorology and operational hydrology as well as to reap the benefits from their application. WMO provides the framework for such international cooperation.

Since its establishment, WMO has played a unique and powerful role in contributing to the safety and welfare of humanity. Under WMO leadership and within the framework of , contribute substantially to the protection of life and property against natural disasters, to safeguarding the environment and to enhancing the economic and social well-being of all sectors of society in areas such as food security, water resources and transport.

WMO promotes cooperation in the establishment of networks for making meteorological, climatological, hydrological and geophysical observations, as well as the exchange, processing and standardization of related data, and assists technology transfer, training and research. It also fosters collaboration between the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of its Members and furthers the application of meteorology to public weather services, agriculture, aviation, shipping, the environment, water issues and the mitigation of the impacts of natural disasters.

WMO facilitates the free and unrestricted exchange of data and information, products and services in real- or near-real time on matters relating to safety and security of society, economic welfare and the protection of the environment. It contributes to policy formulation in these areas at national and international levels.

In the specific case of weather-, climate and water-related hazards, which account for nearly 90% of all natural disasters, WMO's programs provide vital information for the advance warnings that save lives and reduce damage to property and the environment. WMO also contributes to reducing the impacts of human-induced disasters, such as those associated with chemical and nuclear accidents, forest fire and volcanic ash. Studies have shown that, apart from the incalculable benefit to human well-being, every dollar invested in meteorological and hydrological services produces an economic return many times greater, often ten times or more.

WMO plays a leading role in international efforts to monitor and protect the environment through its programs. In collaboration with other UN agencies and the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, WMO supports the implementation of a number of and is instrumental in providing advice and assessments to governments on related matters. These activities contribute towards ensuring the sustainable development and well-being of nations.

The WMO and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) helped created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body tasked to risk management of climate change caused by human activity....
 (IPCC). It is also directly responsible for the creation of the Global Atmosphere Watch
Global Atmosphere Watch

The Global Atmosphere Watch is a worldwide system established by the World Meteorological Organization a United Nations agency to monitor trends in the Earth's atmosphere....
 (GAW).

Meteorological Codes

In keeping with its mandate to promote the standardization of meteorological observations, the WMO maintains numerous code forms for the representation and exchange of meteorological, oceanographical, and hydrological data. The traditional code forms, such as SYNOP
SYNOP

SYNOP is a numerical code used for reporting weather observations made by manned and automated weather stations. SYNOP reports are typically sent every six hours on shortwave using radioteletype....
 and TEMP, are character-based and their coding is position-based. Newer WMO code forms are designed for portability, extensibility and universality. These are BUFR
BUFR

The Binary Universal Form for the Representation of meteorological data is a binary data data file format maintained by the World Meteorological Organization....
, CREX, and, for gridded geo-positioned data, GRIB
GRIB

GRIB is a mathematically concise data format commonly used in meteorology to store historical and weather forecast weather data. It is standardized by the World Meteorological Organization's Commission for Basic Systems, known under number GRIB FM 92-IX, described in WMO Manual on Codes No.306....
.

World Meteorological Day

  • World Meteorological Day is held annually on March 23.


Awards and prizes


  • International Meteorological Organization Prize
  • Professor Dr. Vilho Väisälä Award
  • Norbert Gerbier-Mumm International Award
  • WMO Research Award for Young Scientists


WMO conference on climate prediction and information for decision-making

World Climate Conference
World Climate Conference

The world climate conferences are a series of international meetings, organized by the World Meteorological Organization , about global climate issues....
-3 (WCC-3) will be held from 31 August to 4 September 2009 in Geneva, Switzerland, under the auspices of WMO. Its goal is to address advancements in seasonal to multi-decadal climate predictions and to spur their applications to decision-making in socio-economic sectors, including food, water, energy, health, tourism and development sectors. The Conference aims to contribute to the achievement of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals

The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that 192 United Nations United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015....
 and broader UN climate goals through support for climate adaptation.

See also

  • Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR)
  • Global Atmospheric Research Programme
    Global Atmospheric Research Programme

    The Global Atmospheric Research Programme was a fifteen year international research programme led by the World Meteorological Organisation and the International Council of Scientific Unions....
     (GARP)


External links