EVENTS: May 25th World Meteorological Day – World Meteorological Organization Objectives, Significances, Themes.

World Meteorological Day- Significance

World Meteorology Day is observed on 23 March every year.
Commemorates the founding of the World Meteorological Organization by the WMO Convention in 1950
Marks a significant occasion for the World Meteorological Organization.
Is celebrated by 188 members of the World Meteorological Organization worldwide.
In 1951, the WMO was designated a specialized agency of the United Nations.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO)
IMO was founded in 1873 and established in 1950.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of United Nations dealing with:
Meteorology (weather and climate),
Operational hydrology
Geophysical sciences

World Meteorological Day- Objectives

World Meteorological Day is celebrated keeping in mind the following aims:
To promote global cooperation in the establishment of meteorological observation stations.
To promote establishment of stations for hydrological and geophysical observations.
To promote maintenance and upkeep of observation stations and equip them adequately with resources for research and equipment.
To promote the establishment and maintenance of systems for the rapid exchange of meteorological and related information
To promote standardization of meteorological and related observations and to ensure the uniform publication of observations and statistics
To increase the scope of meteorology to other areas like aviation, shipping, water problems, agriculture and other human activities;
To promote development in operational hydrology and encourage close co-operation between Meteorological and hydrological Services;
To promote research and training in meteorology and in related fields.
To promote international collaboration in research and training.
World Meteorological Day – Message

World Meteorological Day is celebrated to deliver the following messages to the public:

Provide information for better understanding of climatic variability and change.
Assist in understanding the impact of meteorology on environment and surroundings.
Ways to implement climatic application to address environmental concerns.

World Meteorological Day – Themes

Let us now observe WMO themes that have been adopted in the past five years:

Year Theme
2003 Our future climate

2004 Weather, climate, water in the information age
2005 Weather, climate, water and sustainable development
2006 Preventing and mitigating natural disasters
2007 Polar meteorology:
Understanding global impacts

World Meteorology Day-2008

In 2008, the celebrations will take place on the 25th of May at the Secretariat.
2008 marks the Centenary of The Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology which was established in 1908.
The event will mark the importance of the work of the Bureau through the past 100 years, and the linkages it has with WMO in ensuring weather services are appropriate to the needs of the community.
Awards will be given to staff members who have served for more than 30 years.
A new book, "Weather Prophets of South Australia" will be released at the function which deals with the works, projects and contribution of the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology
The World Meteorology Day Centenary function will be held at on 26 March 2008 at the Bureau of Meteorology, Kent Town.