BAMOS
Special Issue
3
Origin of International Meteorological Data Exchange and WMO Resolution 40
An expanded version of the opening keynote for the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) Data Conference , Geneva , 16 – 19 November 2020
By John Zillman , Former WMO President ( 1995 – 2003 )
Abstract
The World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) system of data exchange is unique in the history of science and human affairs . It originated from the dual commitment of the 19th Century International Meteorological Organization ( IMO ) to the advancement of knowledge of atmospheric processes and to the delivery of practical benefits to society . It was reinforced through the mid-20th Century transformation of the non-governmental IMO into the intergovernmental WMO and by the geopolitical and technological circumstances and opportunities of the Cold War . It survived an existential crisis triggered by the late 20th Century commercialisation of public service meteorology in many countries . And it was institutionalised through Resolution 40 of the 1995 World Meteorological Congress , which recognised broadening and enhancing the free and unrestricted international exchange of meteorological and related data and products as a fundamental principle of WMO . The IMO / WMO history provides both timely caution and reassuring encouragement for the development of a new unified international framework for Earth system data and data exchange for the 21st Century .
Introduction
The 17th Century invention of the thermometer and the barometer transformed meteorology from philosophy to science and launched the long tradition of free and unrestricted data exchange as the defining principle of international cooperation in the science and practice of meteorology ( Frisinger , 1977 ).
There is probably no other field of science or human endeavour that has been built so fundamentally on the collection and sharing of information amongst individuals , institutions and governments for the benefit of all ( Zillman , 2018a ).
It has not always been plain sailing but data and data exchange remain the lifeblood of 21st Century meteorology and the continuing raison d ’ etre for the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) ( Zillman , 2018b ).
The entire meteorological community can take pride in the WMO system of cooperation through which almost every person in the world benefits on a daily basis from WMO Members ’ collection and voluntary exchange of meteorological and related Earth system data for the common good ( Davies , 1990 ).
It is clear that both the global weather and climate enterprise and the international data landscape are changing rapidly ( WMO , 2019a ). And that , as big data technologies reshape the information economy , the WMO system of data exchange must respond and advance with the times .
But , while the early 21st Century starting point is well defined by the WMO Convention and the oft referenced Resolutions 40 , 25 and 60 , I believe it important that the design and construction of a new , more integrated and more robust , Earth system data regime remain sensitive , also , to the history , philosophy and economics on which they , in their time , were built .
The following sections , therefore , identify briefly what I regard as the defining influences and events that inspired and shaped the development of international meteorological data exchange over the past 300 years .