| Dutch:Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut | |
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 KNMI headquarters inDe Bilt | |
| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 31 January 1854 (1854-01-31) |
| Headquarters | De Bilt, Netherlands |
| Employees | 534 (as of 2024[update])[1] |
| Deputy Minister responsible | |
| Agency executive |
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| Parent department | Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management |
| Website | www |
TheRoyal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (Dutch:Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut,pronounced[ˈkoːnɪŋkləkˈneːdərlɑntsˌmeːteːjoːroːˈloːɣisɪnstiˈtyt];KNMI) is the Dutch nationalweather forecasting service, which has its headquarters inDe Bilt, in theprovince ofUtrecht, central Netherlands.
The primary tasks of KNMI are weather forecasting, monitoring of climate changes and monitoring seismic activity. KNMI is also the national research and information centre forclimate,climate change andseismology.
KNMI was established by royal decree ofKing William III on 31 January 1854[2] under the title "Royal Meteorological Observatory". ProfessorC. H. D. Buys Ballot was appointed as the first Director.[3] The year before Professor Ballot had moved the Utrecht University Observatory to the decommissioned fort atSonnenborgh. It was only later, in 1897, that the headquarters of the KNMI moved to the Koelenberg estate inDe Bilt.
The "Royal Meteorological Observatory" originally had two divisions, the land branch under Dr. Frederik Wilhelm Christiaan Krecke and the marine branch under navy Lt.Marin H. Jansen.[3]
LikeRobert FitzRoy who founded theMeteorological Office in Britain the same year, Ballot was disenchanted with the non-scientific weather reports found in European newspapers at the time. Like the Met Office, the KNMI also pioneered daily weather predictions, which he called by a new combination "weervoorspelling" (weather prognostication).
Applied research at KNMI is focused on three areas:[4]
KNMI's applied research also encompasses the development and operational use ofatmospheric dispersion models.[5][6]
Whenever a disaster occurs withinEurope which causes the emission oftoxic gases orradioactive material into the atmosphere, it is of utmost importance to quickly determine where the atmospheric plume of toxic material is being transported by the prevailing winds and other meteorological factors. At such times, KNMI activates a special calamity service. For this purpose, a group of seven meteorologists is constantly on call day and night. KNMI's role in supplying information during emergencies is included in municipal and provincial disaster management plans. Civil services, fire departments and the police can be provided with weather and other relevant information directly by the meteorologist on duty, through dedicated telephone connections.
KNMI has available two atmospheric dispersion models for use by their calamity service:
In 2019 KNMI decided to join thewestern storm naming group to help awareness of the danger of storms, the first named storm wasStorm Ciara on 9 February 2020.[7]
52°06′05″N5°10′42″E / 52.10139°N 5.17833°E /52.10139; 5.17833
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