World Meteorological Day 2018: Be weather-ready and climate-smart

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New Delhi: Every year on March 23, World Meteorological Day is observed by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), its members and the meteorological community around the world.

The theme for this year is - ‘weather-ready, climate-smart' to highlight the importance of being weather-ready.

The WMO is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 191 Member States and Territories.

The organisation aimed at establishing a big network station to contribute towards the safety and efficiency of the shipping services along with safety and welfare of the people.

With the global population facing a wide range of natural hazards such as tropical cyclone storm surges, heavy rains, heatwaves, droughts and many more, we should really be weather-ready and climate-smart.

One of the top priorities of WMO and National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) is to protect lives, livelihoods and property from the risks related to weather, climate and water events.

WMO support the global demand of sustainable development, climate change adaption and disaster risk reduction.

Last year, the theme was 'understanding clouds', which highlights the enormous importance of clouds for weather climate and water.

World Meteorological Day commemorates the creation of the World Meteorological Organization on 23 March in 1950.

The organisation became the meteorology agency of the United Nations to keep a tab on weather and climate.