World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)

(Established 1950)

Status

United Nations specialised Agency; intergovernmental since 1951.

Coordination, standardisation and improvement of world meteorological and related activities, and encouragement of an efficient exchange of meteorological and related information between countries in the aid of human activity.

Activities

The Structure of the World Meteorological Organisation

The World Meteorological Organisation is controlled by its general assembly of delegates known collectively as Congress. This body meets on a four-yearly cycle and elects a President and three Vice-Presidents.

Much of the execution of policy is delegated to the Executive Council. This body has 37 members consisting of the President and Vice-Presidents of Congress, the Presidents of six Regional Associations and 27 members elected by Congress. These latter members act in a personal capacity; they are, typically, the Directors of national meteorological and hydrological services. The Executive Council meets annually.

Executive Council is responsible for coordination of the Organisation's programme of work and for utilisation of its budgetary resources. Thus the Secretary-General, appointed by Congress and leading a permanent Secretariat, presents the biennial budget within the four year ceiling set by Congress to a session of Executive Council. Financial support is entirely by contribution from Members.

There are six Regional Associations, tasked with furthering the Organisation's aims and programme of work within each Region. Each Association meets in full session approximately every four years.

There are eight Technical Commissions, composed of technical experts and concerned with the detail of individual parts of the World Meteorological Organisation's programme of work. Full meetings normally take place every four years, but extraordinary meetings are also called. The Presidents of Technical Commissions report to both the Executive Council and Congress.

Much of the work of the World Meteorological Organisation is done within the Technical Commissions by working groups of experts, who ensure that Members are informed of technical advances and means of exploiting them.

There are four Basic Commissions:

1. Commission for Basic Systems – all real-time activities, communications, observations, services.
2. Commission for Instruments and Methods of Observation – state of the art instrumentation and related matters.
3. Commission for Hydrology
4. Commission for Atmospheric Sciences – research in atmospheric sciences.

There are four Applications Commissions:

1. Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology

2. Commission for Agricultural Meteorology

3. Joint WMO/IOC Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM)

4. Commission for Climatology

The Programmes of the World Meteorological Organisation

The Organisation has a helpful web site which gives relevant information—see above. Beyond that, the best source of information is the World Meteorological Organisation Long-Term Plan 1996-2005; WMO Publication Numbers 830-831 inclusive. The 6th Long Term Plan covering 2004-2011 has been agreed and will be updated every four years. Current Programmes may be summarised as follows:

The World Weather Watch Programme - concerned with the provision of required meteorological and related geophysical information to all Members in support of their services to users in real-time and non real-time operations.

The World Climate Programme - aids countries in the application of climatic knowledge to benefit the planning and management of many aspects of human endeavour. Seeks to develop the capability to warn governments of possible future variations of climate which may significantly affect mankind. It also coordinates climate research, particularly field studies.

Atmospheric Research and Environment Programme - contributes to the advancement of atmospheric sciences and assists Members in providing better meteorological services by fostering research in meteorology and related environmental fields.

Applications of Meteorology Programme - to foster the application of meteorological data and knowledge to the pursuit of national social, economic and cultural goals and sustainable development.

Hydrology and Water Resources Programme - promotes activities in operational hydrology and furthers close cooperation between Meteorological and Hydrological Services.

Education and Training Programme - encourages training in meteorology and operational hydrology.

The Technical Cooperation Programme - helps Members of the World Meteorological Organisation to overcome difficulties in operating a National Meteorological and Hydrological Service.

These programmes include marine related cooperative ventures such as the Integrated Global Ocean Services System (IGOSS), and developments such as the Global Climate Observing System and the Global Ocean Observing System.

United Kingdom Interests

Lead Department

The Met Office, London Road, Bracknell, Berkshire, RG12 2SZ.
Contact: Claire Smith, Deputy WMO Manager, International Section, Room 306.
Telephone: +44 (0) 1344 854476  Email: claire.smith@metoffice.com

The Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom at the WMO is Peter Ewins, Chief Executive of the UK Met Office.

Further information on the UK contribution to WMO activities can be obtained from the Met Office web site.

Other Interested Departments and Organisations

Natural Environment Research Council, Polaris House, North Star Avenue, Swindon, SN2 1EU

Coordinated by the International Section of the Met Office (Contact: Claire Smith—see above). Reporting is via the same route or by receipt of WMO official proceedings of sessions of official bodies of WMO, direct from WMO or from the National Meteorological Library in Bracknell.

The United Kingdom currently provides a member of Executive Council, several Chairmen of working groups, and approximately 40 members of working groups, as well as delegates to sessions of Regional Associations and Technical Commissions. This is a major contribution to International Meteorology relative to the size of the UK Met Office.

WMO fulfils a very useful and practical role in helping bring about the advancements in meteorology which are occurring in both operations and research.

Commercialisation of some National Meteorological Services (NMS's) has occurred in recent years, alongside a longstanding tradition of free international exchange of meteorological information. Through WMO, the international meteorological community has developed an agreement designed to maintain an accommodation between these potentially conflicting activities, but interpretation of that agreement continues to be a live issue.

Funding of WMO activities and programmes is also an issue. WMO financial contributions are based on the GNPs of the individual members, and many of the major contributors find it difficult to sustain prevailing levels of funding against a background of increased stringency in their individual, national programmes.