World Meteorological Day
Next: March 23, 2027
Thank the people who watch the sky.
The story
Where it comes from
On 23 March 1950 the convention creating the World Meteorological Organization came into force, and the WMO marks that birthday every year. Its roots go back to 1873, when an International Meteorological Congress in Vienna set up a permanent committee so that countries could share weather observations across borders. That grew into the International Meteorological Organization, which handed over to the new, intergovernmental WMO. In 1951 the WMO became a specialised agency of the United Nations.
How it's celebrated
National weather services, many of them WMO members, open their doors, run school visits and explain how forecasts and early warnings are made, under a theme the WMO picks each year. It is a good day to thank the forecasters, look up at the clouds with a child, or learn what the symbols on a weather map mean.
Did you know
- The 1873 Vienna congress brought together 32 delegates from 20 governments.
- The Dutch professor Buys Ballot was elected president of the first permanent international weather committee.
- World Meteorological Day has had a theme every year since 1961, starting with meteorology in general and moving on to subjects such as agriculture, aviation and clouds.
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