World Meteorological Organization

The World Meteorological Organization ( OMM , in English World Meteorological Organization or WMO ) is an specialized institution of the the United Nations. Its role is to take part in the development of the standards which allow the standardization of weather measurements, their international exchange for the day before and the Weather forecasting, their filing for the climatic studies as well as a relevant application of this information. The OMM also treats operational hydrology.

The congress of the OMM, helped of technical commissions, adopts these standards and recommendations to facilitate the taking into account of the weather, climatic and hydrological factors in all the human activities: safeguarding of the people and the goods, transport (in particular air), agriculture, evaluation of the water resources, information circulation by the Media S…

History

Beginnings of the co-operation

The awakening of the importance of world collaboration in the field of meteorology is not recent: in August 1853 is held in Brussels the first International Conference of maritime meteorology. At that time, the economic powers realize interest which can offer a better comprehension of the oceanic climates with regard to the safety and the speed of commercial navigation between Europe and the other continents. The invention of the telegraph almost at the same time allows moreover the exchange in real-time of information. 12 meteorologists of various countries (Belgium, Denmark, the United States, France, Great Britain, Norway, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Sweden) thus meet in Belgium and decide to exchange their observations daily. They first of all lay down common rules for the catch of measurements and the description of the observations, then agree on the manner of transmitting them. The objective is of " at sea to establish a uniform system of meteorological observations and to contribute thus to the development of a general plan of observation of the winds and currents océaniques".

Following these developments, whose consequences appear profitable for the participating countries, a will of widening of the co-operation is born and one then thinks of creating an organization to coordinate the efforts with the international level. The first international weather Congress in Vienna in 1873 gives rise to the international weather Organization.

In September 1947, at the time of the conference of the directors of the national weather services of Washington, the convention of the OMM is adopted unanimously. It comes into effect on March 23rd, 1950. In December 1951, the OMM becomes an specialized agency of the United Nations, as well as ICAO, created a few years earlier, and replaces the OMI in the center of the world co-operation.

International projects

Consequently, the OMM launches a certain number of project intendeds to improve knowledge of the climate and world weather forecasting. One can quote inter alia:

1951 : installation of the system of total observation of the layer of ozone
1963: launching of the world weather Day before or VM
1971: installation of tropical the Cyclones project, replaced later by the program tropical Cyclones
1972: regrouping of the activities in the field of operational hydrology within the program operational Hydrology of the OMM
1977: installation of IGOSS jointly with the international oceanographical Commission and UNESCO
1979: first World conference on the climate, which leads to the creation of world the Climat program of the OMM
1985: convention of Vienna on the protection of the layer of ozone
1987: protocol of Montreal on the harmful substances with the layer of ozone
1988: creation of GIEC, jointly with PNUE
1989: extension of VM to the monitoring of the atmospheric composition
1992: conference of the United Nations on the environment and the development, installation of GCOS
1993: launching of WHYCOS, cooperation program international in the field of the hydrological observation
1995: installation of CLIPS, an intended program to help the weather services and hydrological national to take into account last technological advances as regards climatology and to deliver with the interested users accurate information and relevant
2003: launching of the prevention program of the natural disasters, as well as space program of the OMM

Actions of the OMM since its creation

During the years 1950, the OMM is devoted mainly to the installation of a common framework intended to allow the co-operation in the international field. It is initially about the signature of agreements on common procedures of observation and transmission of the data, like on technical standards. The organization also works to develop the fast exchanges of data between the various national weather services. It starts to develop an technical assistance with the late countries more in the field; and improves the abundant services, primarily for the navy and the civil aviation.

Years 1960 constitute a turning in the activity of weather forecasting, thanks to the appearance of two technologies now impossible to circumvent: satellites of observation and supercomputers. The satellites make it possible to extend the range of the observations by including territories formerly not monitored, and thus offer a better comprehension of the weather phenomena. The supercomputers, as for them, make possible the settling of digital models of forecast. Parallel to that, of the initiatives continue to be born to develop the co-operation between national weather services in their basic activities: observation by VM, hydrology thanks to the program of operational hydrology…

In the years 1970, the states start to become aware of the importance of the risks related to the climate change and the impact of the human activity on the climate. The subject is brought at the same time by the scientists who observe more climatic events and more devastators, and by the policies who must face the first oil crises. Concerns are born as for energy autonomy from the states, in particular those of the western world of which the energy needs are mainly met by their oil importations of the countries of the Middle East. If the crisis perdure, of new energy sources will have to be used to provide for the needs for the population. The development with large scales of the energy utilization renewable allows in same time to reduce the energy dependence of the states, and to pursue a policy to fight against pollution and the climate change, very developing with the eyes of the public. The developed states thus benefit from the economic conjuncture to support the development of the initiatives of the OMM detection attribution of the climate change. In 1979 thus the first world conference takes place on the climate in Geneva, on the proposal of the PNUE and the OMM. This conference is satisfied to call some with a reinforcement of the observations; besides it opens the world climatological program of the OMM.

The reflections on the world climate open sees it with many debates in the years 1980 on the possibilities of limiting the climatic upheaval. The OMM is a motive fluid of these steps. It asks the national services to prepare with the integration of new elements in their perimeter of activities, and sets up a series of new programs related to the study of the environment: convention on ozone, atmospheric pollutions, climate change. At the same time the GIEC is created, jointly with the PNUE.

The engagement of the OMM in the prevention of the climate change is confirmed later, in the years 1990 and at the beginning of the 21e century by the launching of the climatological system of observation total GCOS, the installation of the program on the prevention of the natural disasters, and the second world conference on the climate.

Organization

Functions

The statutes of the OMM are defined by the convention of October 11th, 1947. The representatives of the national weather services at this meeting in Washington decide creation of an organization intended for " to coordinate, standardize, improve the world weather activities and to encourage an effective exchange of information between the pays".

The objectives of the OMM defined in convention are the following:

to facilitate the world co-operation by the establishment of a network of observation stations of the weather parameters and other parameters geophysics in bond with meteorology; and to promote the creation and the maintenance of weather centers service providers;
to promote the installation and the maintenance of systems of fast exchange of weather information;
to promote the standardization of the meteorological observations and to ensure the uniform publication of observations and statistics;
to develop the applications of meteorology with the civil aviation, the maritime transport, agriculture and other human activities;
to encourage research and the training in meteorology and to assist the international coordination of these functions.

Bodies

The congress

It is about the supreme body of the organization. Constituted of the general meeting of delegated Member States, it gathers every 4 years. At his head the president of the OMM, assisted by three vice-presidents is.

The congress carries out the follow-up and the evaluation of the programs of the OMM, adopts the technical regulations in the field of the procedures and weather practices, determines the general policy of the organization within the framework of the objectives which are allotted to him by the convention of 1947, puts forth recommendations for the Member States in the perimeter of competences of the organization, establishes the limits of the areas of the OMM and coordinates their activities, sets up the technical commissions whose it coordinates the activities. He votes the programs and the budget for the following financial period, and provides the interface with the political decisions. He is also the only body with being able to bring an amendment to the convention or the procedures of general regulations.

The decisions taken by the congress must be carried out by all the Member States. There is however no coercive means.

Each Member State has a voice within the congress. The decisions are made in the majority of the 2/3. In certain fields however, the right to vote is limited to a part alone of the Member States:

the amendment with convention or proposals for a new convention,
adhesion with the OMM,
relations with the intergovernmental United Nations and the other organizations,
the election of the president and the vice-presidents.

The executive committee

The executive committee is the executive body of the organization, person in charge of the coordination of the programs. It is composed of the president and the vice-presidents of the organization, of the presidents of regional associations, and directors of national weather services (37 representatives in all). It meets each year.

The executive committee checks the execution of the resolutions of the congress, adopts the resolutions coming from recommendations of the technical commissions in the event of urgency, proposes its councils, of the technical assistance and of information in the field of the meterology, puts forth recommendations in all the fields related to meteorology, prepares the diary of the sessions of the congress, manages finances of the organization and carries out the tasks entrusted by the congress.

Each member of the committee has a voice, and the decisions are made there in the majority of the 2/3.

Regional associations

Regional associations are established by the congress, and are composed members of the organization whose weather network belongs to a given geographical area. The world is thus divided into 6 areas: Africa, Asia, South America, North America, the Pacific South-western, Europe and the Middle East.

The purpose of regional associations are to promote the co-operation between the members in the fields of action of the SMN, to encourage the development of research and the formation weather and hydrological, to make apply the resolutions of the congress and the executive committee in their respective areas, to put forth proposals for the congress and executive committee.

Regional associations meet in general once every 4 years.

Technical commissions

These commissions, made up skilled technicians, are installation by the congress with an aim of studying a particular subject and of putting forth recommendations. They follow the projections technical and scientific, develop procedures of technical regulation, deal with planning, the implementation and the evaluation of the scientific activities of the organization, take part in the promotion of the formation and the technology transfer.

The members of the organization can ask to be represented there. Their presidents take part in the meetings of the congress and the executive committee, but without right to vote. In addition, the technical commissions meet once every 4 years.

They are 8 today:

basic systems,
instruments and methods of observation,
atmospheric sciences,
aeronautical meteorology,
agricultural meteorology,
oceanography and marine meteorology,
hydrology,
climatology.

The secretariat

It is composed of the general secretary, is named by the administrative congress, and technical personnel and. It is used of administrative center, documentation and information of the organization.

Programs

The OMM is in load of 10 major programmes of technical collaboration between its Member States. The pooling of means makes it possible to carry out projects at cost much lower than those which the countries would have supported if they only acted.

World weather day before

It is about the principal program of the OMM, which gathers centers of data processing, means of telecommunications as well as systems of observations, managed and maintained by the Member States. This system places at the disposal of all the participating weather and geophysical information necessary to provide effective weather services and hydrological countries in the Member States.

A under-component of this program is the program of the tropical cyclones, which gathers more than 60 states, and which is dedicated to the prevention of the cyclones in the areas where they are frequent.

The program of VM includes/understands also the program " Instruments and methods of observation" the goal is the standardization and the development of the meteorological observation.

The world climatological program

By the monitoring of the climatic data and the pooling of the research programs climatological in the world, this project aims at developing our comprehension of the climatic processes and their foreseeable evolutions (climate change). One of its components consists in improving the use of information climatological at ends of social development and economic.

The atmospheric research and the environment program

Through the total atmospheric Day before which integrates the data of monitoring and the research activities carried out by the System of total observation of ozone and the inspection Network of air pollution, this program promotes atmospheric research and is established in system of detection of the changes in the composition of the atmosphere.

The program of the applications of meteorology

This program development assistance in the Member States of products and related services to the four principal applications of meteorology:

service with the public, centered on the safety and the prevention of the main risks,
agricultural meteorology, which helps with the installation of a production of quality, economically viable, respectful of the environment and durable, and which takes part in the information of the farmers in their making known the interest of weather forecasting for their daily needs,
aeronautical meteorology, which, by the staff training, the promotion of weather research, the assistance with the installation of instruments, contributes to develop the safety and the effectiveness of the aerial navigation,
marine meteorology, which takes part in the standardization of the meteorological observations and oceanographical, of data processing and of the information systems.

Other major programs

They gather:

the hydrological program and of the water resources, which deals with the monitoring of quality and the quantity of the water resource, the natural risks related to water, and of the maintenance or the improvement of the total environment - this program maintains the bonds narrow with the international hydrological program of UNESCO;
the program of education and training, which helps the Member States to train the meteorologists, hydrologists and engineers which it needs;
the technical cooperation program which organizes the transfer of knowledge in the fields of meteorology and hydrology between the Member States;
the program regional, transverse, deals with the concerns specific to the areas of the OMM;
the prevention program and of protection against the natural risks coordinates the activities of the Member States in these fields;
the space program

Current figures

The OMM currently counts 182 members (1) and 6 associated members.

(1) Since the adhesion of Montenegro, on January 24th, 2007.

The essential share of the budget of the OMM comes from the own resources of the Member States engaged in the operations of observation, of development of the communication or the information systems which are planned and implemented within the framework defined by the Organization. The ceiling of the expenditure over the period 2004-2007 was fixed at 253,8 million Swiss francs (that is to say 163 M€) by the 14th world congress of meteorology in 2003. The contributions of the Member States are distributed proportionally to the GDP.

External bond

Detailed informations concerning the OMM on its Web site (mainly in English)

Simple: World Meteorological Organization

Random links: