About World Meteorological Organisation (WMO):
- It is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN).
- It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behavior of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces, and the resulting distribution of water resources.
- It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was founded in 1873.
- Established in 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the UN for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
- Currently it has a membership of 187 countries.
- Governance Structure:
- Its supreme body is the World Meteorological Congress, which consists of representatives of all members. It meets at least every four years to set general policy and adopt regulations.
- A 36-member Executive Council meets annually and implements policy.
- The Secretariat, headed by a secretary-generalappointed by the congress for a four-year term, serves as the administrative centre of the organization.
- Six regional associationsaddress problems peculiar to their regions.
- Eight technical commissions.
- Major Programmes:
- World Weather Watch: A system of satellites and telecommunication networks connecting land and sea sites for monitoring weather conditions.
- World Climate Programme: It monitors climate change, including global warming.
- Atmospheric Research and Environment Programme: Designed to promote research on issues such as ozone depletion.
