World Meteorological Day is an annual global celebration observed on March 23rd. All of us do depend on weather forecasts in everyday life. Only with this forecast we can predict what the forthcoming day or week brings us regarding temperature. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, and significant breakthroughs in weather forecasting occurred in the latter half of the 20th century. Every other advancement made in this field has international cooperation, and the expertise working in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has been delivering high-quality, accurate weather details. World Meteorological Day was celebrated in remembrance of the World Meteorological Organization’s establishment in 1950.

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.” – John Ruskin

History of World Meteorological Day

World Meteorological Day has been celebrated since the year 1961. World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has founded this celebration event. It is a Day created to commemorate the establishment of the WMO on March 23, 1950. Since then, the day has been celebrated all over the world by the member states of the meteorological organizations. WMO is an intergovernmental organization that originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO) with a membership of 191 Member States and Territories. The IMO was founded in the year 1873 at the first International Meteorological Congress in Vienna, Austria. The IMO aims to establish the meteorological station networks and to link those networks by telegraph and improved weather forecasts which eventually has contributed to safer and more efficient shipping services.

World Meteorological Day

The International Meteorological Organization had become the World Meteorological Organization. The Convention of the WMO was established by the ratification on March 23rd, 1950. WMO became the UN’s specialized agency for meteorology, operational hydrology, and related geophysical sciences a later, i.e. in 1951. WMO is the specialized agency of the United Nations. It is the UN system’s authoritative voice upon the state and behavior of the Earth’s atmospheric condition, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces, and the resulting distribution of the water resources. WMO is playing a crucial role in safeguarding the earth’s environment and contributing to the people’s welfare and safety. The works of WMO are significant in contributing to food security, water resources, and transportation.

The leadership for WMO programs for the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services provides a lot of help by protecting the life and property of humans from natural disasters. The World Meteorological Organization is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and is headed by the Secretary-General and World Meteorological Congress is its supreme body. The Day is celebrated annually by organizing a variety of programs, conferences, exhibitions, and activities. The WMO organizes the Scientific and Technical Forum that discusses an outline of all the past activities and achievements of the World Weather Watch. A theme is chosen to celebrate this Day ever since the first occurrence and is stated as below.

  • 1961  –  Meteorology – General Themes
  • 1962  –  Contribution of meteorology to agriculture and food production
  • 1963  –  Transport and meteorology (in particular, application of meteorology to aviation)
  • 1964  –  Meteorology as a factor of economic development
  • 1965  –  International cooperation in meteorology
  • 1966  –  World Weather Watch
  • 1967  –  Weather and water
  • 1968  –  Meteorology and agriculture
  • 1969  –  The economic value of meteorological services
  • 1970  –  Meteorological education and training
  • 1971  –  Meteorology and human environment
  • 1972  –  Meteorology and human environment
  • 1973  –  One hundred years of international cooperation in meteorology
  • 1974  –  Meteorology and tourism
  • 1975  –  Meteorology and telecommunications
  • 1976  –  Weather and food
  • 1977  –  Weather and water
  • 1978  –  Meteorology and research for the future
  • 1979  –  Meteorology and energy
  • 1980  –  Man and climatic variability
  • 1981  –  World Weather Watch as a tool for development
  • 1982  –  Observing the weather from space
  • 1983  –  The weather observer
  • 1984  –  Meteorology aids food production
  • 1985  –  Meteorology and public safety
  • 1986   –  Climate variations, drought and desertification
  • 1987  –  Meteorology: a model of international cooperation
  • 1988  –  Meteorology and the media
  • 1989  –  Meteorology in the service of aviation
  • 1990  –  Natural disaster reduction: how meteorological and hydrological services can help
  • 1991  –  The atmosphere of the living planet Earth
  • 1992  –  Weather and climate services for sustainable development
  • 1993  –  Meteorology and the transfer of technology
  • 1994  –  Observing the weather and climate
  • 1995  –  Public weather services
  • 1996  –  Meteorology in the service of sports
  • 1997  –  Weather and water in cities
  • 1998  –  Weather, oceans and human activity
  • 1999  –  Weather, climate and health
  • 2000  –  The World Meteorological Organization – 50 years of service
  • 2001  –  Volunteers for weather, climate and water
  • 2002  –  Reducing Vulnerability to Weather and Climate Extremes
  • 2003  –  Our future climate
  • 2004  –  Weather, climate, water in the information age
  • 2005  –  Weather, climate, water and sustainable development
  • 2006  –  Preventing and mitigating natural disasters
  • 2007  –  Polar meteorology: Understanding global impacts
  • 2008  –  Observing our planet for a better future
  • 2009  –  Weather, climate and the air we breathe
  • 2010  –  60 years of service for your safety and well-being
  • 2011  –  Climate for You
  • 2012  –  Powering our Future with Weather, Climate and Water
  • 2013  –  Watching the weather to protect life and property
  • 2014  –  Weather and Climate: Engaging Youth
  • 2015  –  Climate Knowledge for Climate Action
  • 2016   –  Hotter, drier, wetter. Face the Future
  • 2017  –  Understanding Clouds
  • 2018 – Weather-ready, climate-smart
  • 2019 – The Sun, the Earth and the Weather
  • 2020 – Climate and Water
  • 2021 – The Ocean, our climate and weather
  • 2022 – Early Warning and Early Action
  • 2023 – The Future of Weather, Climate and Water across Generations

Other Celebrations on March 23

March 23 is also celebrated as

How to Celebrate World Meteorological Day

Celebrating World Meteorological Day is quite simple. Take this day as the best chance to get to know about your country’s metrological condition and the history in detail. You can participate in the events, conferences, exhibitions conducted for meteorological professionals, community leaders, and the general public. Present your contributions to get the WMO Awards as WMO is recognizing the most outstanding credits of the young scientists and engineers in the field of meteorology. The Day is celebrated in many countries by issuing postage stamps or special postage stamp cancellations to mark this celebration. These stamps will often reflect the theme of the event or mark a country’s meteorology achievements. Share your views about the Day on social media using the hashtag #MeteorologicalDay.

Thank you for reading the post. You can celebrate every day with Happydays365.org and Happy World Meteorological Day 2023.