World Meteorological Organization
“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 behaviour of the Earth’s atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the resulting distribution of water resources.
“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 WMO programmes, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services 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.”
See WMO, In Brief.
The World Meteorological Organization ”carries out its work through 10 major scientific and technical programmes. These are designed to assist all Members to provide, and benefit from, a wide range of meteorological and hydrological services and to address present and emerging problems.
“The programmes are based on the concept and experience that mutual benefits are gained from cooperative use of the pool of knowledge that has been, and is still being, created by worldwide sharing of meteorological, hydrological and related information among Members. The programmes of WMO make possible the provision of meteorological and related services in all countries at costs far below those that would be incurred if each Member acted alone.”
- WMO Programmes include:
- The World Weather Watch Programme
- The World Climate Programme
- The Global Atmosphere Watch
- The World Weather Research Programme
- The Application of Meteorology Programme
- The Hydrology and Water Resources Programme
- The Education and Training Programme
- The Regional Programme
- The WMO Space Programme
- The Disaster Risk Reduction Programme
See WMO, Programmes Summary, for more information.