#WorldMetDay 23rd March
The World Meteorological Organization is the United Nation's authoritative voice on weather, climate and water.
The world weather watch was set up in the 60s to help predict the weather. Modern meteorology depends upon near instantaneous exchange of weather information across the entire globe and the member countries of the WMO do this. The weather knows no national boundaries and by safety is very much a team effort, hence the WMO slogan “Working together in weather, climate and water. Sharing of this information internationally has led to the Severe Weather Info Centre
http://severe.worldweather.wmo.int/ which is an easy way to spot trouble on a world map.
Weather and Climate: Engaging Youth is the theme this year, with an aim to increase awareness among young people about climate change and mobilize them as champions for action. The WMO is also calling for more young people – especially women – to become meteorologists: a profession which makes a vital contribution to the safety and well-being of society. This goes back further in the UK with recent campaigns to encourage girls to study science especially Physics, which is key in studying weather forecasting. It was true that historically weather forecasters were mostly men, as the Met Office had a more military bias (or the Navy itself), the lone shifts and nights weren’t that enticing. Nowadays there are more options for a forecaster and many more women appear on the television broadcasts now than say 25 years ago. Around the world though this may not be the case and the WMO aims extend elsewhere.
Of course, don’t be put off by the careers advice of having both journalism and atmospheric physics experience, we all know there are 2 other things that can make a succesful weather girl.
On a more serious note, put more bluntly, it will be young people who “will live into the second half of this century and experience the increasing impacts of climate change”. As current policy struggles to get noticed/funding/believed this younger sector may be the only way to get started on real change.
The Youth Corner on the WMO site has activities to engage young people in science with links from various met. organisations and international bodies.
http://www.wmo.int/youth/just-for-funThere are links about careers in Meteorology although the Royal Met Soc. Site has more information for the UK. There will be various presentations and talks given by the WMO on Monday 24
th for World Met Day. A programme -
http://www.wmo.int/worldmetday/documents/014programme_highres.pdf
