The WMO originated from theInternational Meteorological Organization (IMO), anongovernmental organization founded in 1873 as a forum for exchanging weather data and research.[4] Proposals to reform the status and structure of the IMO culminated in the World Meteorological Convention of 1947, which formally established the World Meteorological Organization.[5] The Convention entered into force on 23 March 1950, and the following year the WMO began operations as anintergovernmental organization within theUnited Nations System.
The WMO is made up of 193 countries and territories, and facilitates the "free and unrestricted" exchange of data, information, and research between the respective meteorological and hydrological institutions of its members.[6][7] It also collaborates with nongovernmental partners and other international organizations on matters related toenvironmental protection,climate change, resource management, andsocioeconomic development.[8]
Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the WMO is governed by the World Meteorological Congress, composed of member states, which meets every four years to set policies and priorities. The Congress is led by an Executive Council led by the President, currently Abdulla Al Mandous of UAE.[9]
German meteorologist Gerhard Adrian, president of the World Meteorological Organization, in 2019
The WMO was established by the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization,[10] signed 11 October 1947 and ratified on 23 March 1950. The Convention serves as the constituent treaty of the WMO, setting forth its purposes, governance, and general framework.
The WMO hierarchy:
The World Meteorological Congress,[11] the supreme body of the Organization, determines policy. Each member state and territory is represented by a Permanent Representative with WMO when Congress meets every four years. Congress elects the President and vice-presidents of the Organization and members of the Executive Council; and appoints the Secretary-General.
The Executive Council (EC) implements Congress decisions.
The Secretariat is an eight-department organization with a staff of 200 headed by a Secretary-General, who can serve a maximum of two four-year terms.[12]
The annually published WMO Statement on the status of the World Climate[13] provides details of global, regional and national temperatures and extreme weather events. It also provides information on long-term climate change indicators including atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, sea level rise, and sea ice extent. The year 2016 was the hottest year on record, with many weather and climate extremes, according to the most recent WMO report.[14]
As of August 2023, the WMO has a membership of 193 member states and territories.[15]
In keeping with its mandate to promote the standardization of meteorological observations, the WMO maintains numerous code forms for the representation and exchange of meteorological, oceanographical, and hydrological data. The traditional code forms, such asSYNOP,CLIMAT andTEMP, are character-based and their coding is position-based. Newer WMO code forms are designed for portability, extensibility and universality. These areBUFR, and, for gridded geo-positioned data,GRIB.[citation needed]
WMO states that "theInternational System of Units (SI) should be used as the system of units for the evaluation of meteorological elements included in reports for international exchange."[21] The following units, which include units which are not SI units, are recommended by the WMO for meteorological observations:
Degrees clockwise from north (°) forwind direction, or alternatively on the scale 0–36, where 36 is the wind directly from north and 09 is the directly wind from east.
Region III consists of the states ofSouth America, including France asFrench Guiana is an overseas region of France. It has a total of 13 member states and no member territories:[39]
Argentina
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
French Guiana
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela
Regional Association IV (North America, Central America and the Caribbean)
Region IV consists of the states ofNorth America,Central America, and theCaribbean, including three European states with dependencies within the region. It has a total of 25 member states and 2 member territories. The member states are:[40]
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Colombia
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
France
Guatemala
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Panama
Saint Lucia
Trinidad and Tobago
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
A total of ten member states have membership in more than one region. Two nations are members to four different regions, while eight are members of two regions. These nations, with their regions, are as follows:
^"United in Science 2020".World Meteorological Organization. 19 September 2019. Archived fromthe original on 15 December 2023. Retrieved9 October 2020.
