World Meteorological Day 2012

By Dr Arvind Kumar

The World Meteorological Day is annually held on or around 23 March to commemorate the establishment of the World Meteorological Organization, which was earlier known as International Meteorological Organization. The International Meteorological Organization was established at the first International Meteorological Congress in Vienna, Austria, in 1873. The organization aimed to establish meteorological station networks. These networks were linked by telegraph and improved weather forecasts. This contributed to shipping services’ safety and efficiency. The International Meteorological Organization became the World Meteorological Organization on 23 March 1950. It became the UN’s specialized agency for meteorology, operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences in 1951.

The World Meteorological Organization plays a crucial role in contributing to people’s safety and welfare. Its work is important in providing food security, water resources and transport. World Meteorological Day has been observed on 23 March each year since 1961.

World Meteorological Day often features various events such as conferences, symposia and exhibitions for meteorological professionals, community leaders and the general public. Some events aim to attract media attention to raise meteorology’s profile. Many prizes for meteorological research are presented or announced on or close to World Meteorological Day. Many countries issue postage stamps or special postage stamp cancellation marks to celebrate World Meteorological Day. These stamps often reflect the event’s theme or mark a country’s meteorology achievements. The worldwide meteorological community celebrates World Meteorological Day around a chosen theme. This year, the theme is “Powering our future with weather, climate and water”.

WMO themes that have been adopted in the past five years:

1. World Meteorological Day 2011 Theme – Climate for you
2. World Meteorological Day 2010 Theme – 60 years of service for your safety and well-being
3. World Meteorological Day 2009 Theme – Weather, climate and the air we breathe
4. World Meteorological Day 2008 Theme – Observing our planet for a better future
5. World Meteorological Day 2007 Theme – Polar meteorology: Understanding global impacts