World Meteorological Organization facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
World Meteorological Organization

Abbreviation	WMO
Formation	23 March 1950; 75 years ago (1950-03-23)
Type	United Nations specialized agency
Legal status	Active
Headquarters	Geneva, Switzerland
Head	President Abdulla Al Mandous, UAE (since 2023) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, Argentina since 2024
Parent organization	United Nations Economic and Social Council

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a special agency of the United Nations. It helps countries work together on important topics like weather, climate, water, and Earth science.

The WMO started from an older group called the International Meteorological Organization in 1873. This group was a place for scientists to share weather information. In 1947, countries decided to create the WMO. It officially began on March 23, 1950. Since then, WMO has been a key part of the UN system.

Today, 193 countries and territories are members of the WMO. It helps them share weather data, information, and research freely. WMO also works with other groups on things like protecting the environment, understanding climate change, managing resources, and helping countries grow.

The WMO's main office is in Geneva, Switzerland. The World Meteorological Congress, made up of member countries, guides the WMO. This group meets every four years to decide on WMO's main goals. The Congress is led by an Executive Council, with Abdulla Al Mandous as the current President.

How the WMO Works

German meteorologist Gerhard Adrian, a former president of the World Meteorological Organization, in 2019.

The WMO was created by an agreement called the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization. This agreement was signed in 1947 and started on March 23, 1950. It explains what the WMO does, how it is run, and its main rules.

The WMO has a few main parts:

• The World Meteorological Congress is the highest group. It decides on the WMO's plans. Each member country sends a representative to this meeting every four years. The Congress chooses the President, Vice-Presidents, and members of the Executive Council. It also picks the Secretary-General.
• The Executive Council makes sure that the decisions made by the Congress are put into action.
• The Secretariat is like the WMO's main office. It has about 200 staff members and is led by the Secretary-General. The Secretary-General can serve for a maximum of two four-year terms.

Every year, the WMO publishes a report called the WMO Statement on the Status of the World Climate. This report shares details about temperatures around the world and extreme weather events. It also gives information on long-term climate changes. These include how much greenhouse gases are in the air, how much sea levels are rising, and how much sea ice is left. For example, 2016 was the hottest year on record at that time.

As of August 2023, the WMO has 193 members. These include 187 countries and 6 territories.

Leaders of the WMO

Here are the people who have served as the Secretary-General of the WMO:

• 1952–1955 Gustav Swoboda ( Switzerland)
• 1956–1979 David Arthur Davies ( United Kingdom)
• 1980–1983 Aksel C. Wiin-Nielsen ( Denmark)
• 1984–2003 Godwin Obasi ( Nigeria)
• 2004–2015 Michel Jarraud [fr] ( France)
• 2016–2023 Petteri Taalas ( Finland)
• 2024–present Celeste Saulo ( Argentina)

WMO's Main Goals

The WMO has a plan with several important goals:

• Reducing the risk of natural disasters.
• Creating a global system for climate services.
• Improving the way we observe the Earth's weather and climate.
• Making aviation weather services better and safer.
• Focusing on weather and climate in polar and high mountain areas.
• Helping countries develop their weather and climate skills.
• Improving how the WMO is run.

Weather Codes and Data Sharing

The WMO helps make sure that weather observations are the same everywhere. It creates special codes for sharing weather, ocean, and water data. Older codes use characters in specific positions. Newer codes are more flexible and can be used for many different types of data. These include BUFR, CREX, and GRIB for gridded data.

Important Awards and Recognition

In 2007, a group called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) won the Nobel Peace Prize. The IPCC was created by the WMO and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). They won the award for their work in sharing knowledge about human-caused climate change. They also helped set the stage for actions needed to fight climate change.

World Meteorological Day

The WMO headquarters in Geneva, which is also shared with the IPCC.

Every year, on March 23, people celebrate World Meteorological Day. This day marks the official start of the WMO in 1950.

Measuring Weather: Units Used

The WMO recommends using the International System of Units (SI) for measuring weather elements. This helps everyone understand the data. Here are some common units recommended by the WMO:

• Degrees Celsius (°C) or Kelvin (K) for temperature.
• Metres per second (m/s) for wind speed.
• Degrees from north (°) for wind direction. For example, 36 is wind from the north, and 09 is wind from the east.
• Hectopascals (hPa) for atmospheric pressure.
• Percent (%) for relative humidity.
• Millimetres (mm) for precipitation (rain or snow).
• Millimetres (mm) for evaporation.
• Millimetres per hour (mm/h) for how hard it is raining.
• Hours (h) for how long the sun shines.
• Metres (m) for how far you can see.
• Metres (m) for cloud height.
• Standard geopotential metre (m') for geopotential height.
• Kilograms per square metre (kg/m²) for how much water is in snow.
• Watts per square metre (W/m²) for how much energy from the sun hits a surface.
• Joules per square metre (J/m²) for total energy from the sun.
• Oktas for how much of the sky is covered by clouds.

WMO Resources for the Public

The WMO offers many materials to help people learn about its work:

• The World Meteorological Organization at a Glance
• WMO Public website
• WMO for Youth
• WMO Bulletin (published twice a year)
• WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin (published every year)
• WMO Statements on the Status of the World Climate (published every year)
• In September 2020, the WMO published a report called United in Science 2020. This report brought together the latest climate science information from many organizations. It had 7 chapters, each with key messages.

WMO Awards

The WMO gives out several awards to recognize important work in meteorology and related fields:

• International Meteorological Organization Prize
• Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Awards
• WMO Research Award for Young Scientists
• Professor Mariolopoulus Award

WMO Member Countries and Territories

As of 2023, the WMO has 187 member countries and 6 member territories.

Some countries that are part of the United Nations are not members of the WMO. These include Equatorial Guinea, Grenada, Liechtenstein, Marshall Islands, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and San Marino. On the other hand, Cook Islands and Niue are WMO members but not part of the United Nations.

The six WMO Member Territories are:

• The British Caribbean Territories (they have a joint membership)
• French Polynesia
• Hong Kong
• Macau
• Curaçao and Sint Maarten (they have a joint membership)
• New Caledonia

WMO Members by Region

The WMO divides its member states into six regional associations, shown on a world map.

The WMO divides its members into six regional groups. This helps them work together more easily based on their location.

Region I: Africa

This region includes countries in Africa and a few former colonial powers. It has 57 member countries and no territories.

One country in Africa that is not a WMO member is Equatorial Guinea.

Region II: Asia

This region has 33 member countries and 2 member territories.

The member territories are:

• Hong Kong
• Macau

Region III: South America

This region includes countries in South America. It also includes France because French Guiana is a part of France. It has 13 member countries and no territories.

Region IV: North America, Central America and the Caribbean

This region covers North America, Central America, and the Caribbean. It also includes three European countries that have territories in the region. It has 25 member countries and 2 member territories.

The two member territories are:

• British Caribbean Territories
• Curaçao and Sint Maarten

Some non-members in this region are Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Region V: South-West Pacific

This region has 23 member countries and 2 member territories.

The member territories are:

• French Polynesia
• New Caledonia

Non-members in this region include Marshall Islands and Palau.

Region VI: Europe

This region includes all countries in Europe and some in Western Asia. It has 50 member countries.

Non-members in this region include Liechtenstein and San Marino.

Countries in More Than One Region

Some countries are members of more than one WMO region. This is usually because they have territories or special interests in different parts of the world.

See Also

In Spanish: Organización Meteorológica Mundial para niños

• Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR)
• Cloud atlas
• Global Climate Observing System
• International Cloud Atlas
• Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre