عمليات الرصد

وتعالج حواسيب قوية في مراكز المنظمة (WMO) حول العالم البيانات المجمعة انطلاقاً من عشرات آلاف أدوات الرصد البري والبحري وسواتل رصد الأرض. وتُستخدم تلك البيانات في النماذج الرقمية استناداً إلى القوانين الفيزيائية لإعداد تنبؤات جوية ومناخية ومتعلقة بالمياه، وتنبؤات ونواتج للمعلومات لاستخدامها في الحياة اليومية وصنع القرارات على المدى الطويل.

Aircraft-based observations, comprised of reports of meteorological data and information provided or transmitted from an aircraft platform, have made a significant contribution to upper-air monitoring of the atmosphere since the early twentieth century. Initially, this contribution was limited to PIlot REPorts (PIREP), consisting of little more than radio communications from pilots back to the ground regarding weather phenomena and conditions encountered during flight.

Data repositories and archives play a critical role as the source for the observational data used in the study of weather and climate. After over two centuries of recording observations on physical media – and the last 20 years on digital media – these records are at risk.

Long-term meteorological observations are part of the irreplaceable cultural and scientific heritage of mankind that serve the needs of current and future generations for long-term high quality climate records. They are unique sources of past information about atmospheric parameters, thus are references for climate variability and change assessments. To highlight this importance, WMO has a mechanism to recognize centennial observing stations.