Weather, climate and the air we breathe - WMO

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International cooperation
in arid zone problems and
the development of water
resources;
The large-scale participation in
the International Geophysical
Year programme, including the
creation of a Meteorological Data
Centre in Geneva;
Ever-increasing participation in
the United Nations Technical
Assistance Programme.
All these achievements are in harmony
with the aims of our Organization, one
of the most important of which is to
“further the application of meteorology
to aviation, shipping, agriculture and
other human activities”. More special
attention should perhaps be given in
the near future to another or our aims,
namely “to encourage research and
training in meteorology and to assist in
coordinating the international aspects
of such research and training”.
New spheres of activity
In the meantime, the Organization
has had to tackle some entirely new
and urgent problems such as those
connected with the use of atomic
energy and the introduction of
commercial jet aircraft. Thanks to the
cooperation of those Members which
have willingly lent the services of
experts in these fields, the Executive
Committee has been able to take
appropriate and effective action. …
The collaboration of our Organization
has been solicited in another important
field, that of hydrology, because it has
become apparent that there is need
for intergovernmental coordination
of hydrological observations and
investigations throughout the world.
The Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations has recommended
that the responsibilities of WMO be
extended to cover a large part of this
field. … a preliminary inquiry carried
out by the Secretariat has shown that
many Members would be in favour
8 | WMO Bulletin 58 (1) - January 2009
of such a step, which would increase
the importance and prestige of the
Organization. The final decision lies
with Third Congress.
… I think that the results obtained
by WMO are such as to convince ...
Members that the best possible use
has been made of the contributions
which they pay. … F.W. Reichelderfer
[has] pointed out quite rightly that
“they [meteorologists] have of
necessity practised their profession
with minimum facilities and meagre
information and data—facilities
that would be regarded as less than
reasonable standards in other physical
sciences”. This spirit of economy—
which is a sort of professional
characteristic of meteorologists—
has resulted, when transferred to the
international level, in WMO being one
of the best investments amongst the
international organizations.
Problems for future study
We can justifiably be proud of the
results already obtained, but we must
ensure that this very praiseworthy
desire for economy does not lead
to harmful cheese-paring. To use an
anatomical metaphor, our Organization
can be slim but it must not run the risk
of becoming rickety.
This is particularly important at the
moment, for meteorology is now
undergoing an evolution which
with the passage of time may one
day be considered as a revolution.
The traditional charts showing the
isobars, fronts and air masses, used
exclusively until quite recently, are
now supplemented by contour charts
which may in turn be partly replaced by
tropopause and streamline charts. Our
knowledge of the general circulation,
jet streams and the structure of the
tropopause is constantly growing.
Study of the upper winds between
20 and 40 km north of the Tropic of
Cancer show, for example, that in
addition to the seasonal variations in
the easterlies, there are also variations
in speed and direction which merit
closer study in order to determine
their cause and their relationship with
the development of the wind field, up
to at least the level of the tropopause.
Moreover, it is possible to confirm
beyond all doubt the existence of a
layer with a mean thickness of 7 km,
lying 2 km above the tropopause,
in which wind speed decreases
considerably and the temperature
variations are very small: a layer,
therefore, where the conditions,
free from clouds and probably of
turbulence, are ideal for long-distance
flights by the turbo-propelled aircraft
of tomorrow. Thus, every day brings
new confirmation of the notion of the
worldwide interdependence of all
atmospheric phenomena.
The charts prepared by the
meteorological services formerly
covered areas of varying, but often
limited, extent. Today, the drawing
of hemispheric charts will have to
become a part of the daily work, at
least in a certain number of services;
planetary charts will, in their turn,
soon be introduced into routine
practice.
Parallel with the increase in the
intensity of meteorological work,
there is also an expansion in its scope.
Observations of radiation, ozone, the
chemical composition of the air and
radioactivity, which hitherto were
not very widespread, are acquiring
increasing importance; they are no
longer made only at isolated stations,
but also in organized networks. This
development has been speeded up by
the International Geophysical Year and
it would be regrettable if these new
networks were to be closed down.
Application of new
techniques
New techniques are on the point of
making a valuable contribution to
this mass of data. It is still too early
to make a complete inventory of
all that meteorology may expect to
obtain from the extra-atmospheric
observations made by means of
rockets or artificial satellites. We