World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)

About World Meteorological Organisation (WMO):

• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
• 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.
• It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873. 
• Established in 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the UN for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
• Headquarters:  Geneva, Switzerland.
• Currently it has a membership of 187 countries.
• Governance Structure:
  • Its supreme body is the World Meteorological Congress, which consists of representatives of all members. It meets at least every four years to set general policy and adopt regulations.
  • A 36-member Executive Council meets annually and implements policy.
  • The Secretariat, headed by a secretary-general appointed by the congress for a four-year term, serves as the administrative centre of the organization.
  • Six regional associations address problems peculiar to their regions.
  • Eight technical commissions.
• Major Programmes:
  • World Weather Watch: A system of satellites and telecommunication networks connecting land and sea sites for monitoring weather conditions.
  • World Climate Programme: It monitors climate change, including global warming.
  • Atmospheric Research and Environment Programme: Designed to promote research on issues such as ozone depletion.

Q1) What is meant by meteorology?

Meteorology is the study of the processes in the Earth’s atmosphere that cause particular weather conditions, especially in order to predict the weather.

Source: U.N. takes step towards new way of tracking greenhouse gases

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