The 2015 edition of the World Meteorological Day was celebrated around the theme ‘Climate Knowledge for Climate Action,' in order to: highlight recent advances in climate science and the need for decisive measures to limit climate change; and provide an opportunity to take stock of climate knowledge garnered over the last few decades to support more ambitious action.
23 March 2015: The 2015 edition of the World Meteorological Day was celebrated around the theme ‘Climate Knowledge for Climate Action,’ in order to: highlight recent advances in climate science and the need for decisive measures to limit climate change; and provide an opportunity to take stock of climate knowledge garnered over the last few decades to support more ambitious action.
In a message to commemorate the day, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said strengthening climate resilience is central to the UN’s activities in 2015, and called for timely, reliable, accessible and usable information for decision making. Michel Jarraud, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), underscored the high cost of inaction, warning it will become even higher “if we do not act immediately and resolutely.”
To coincide with World Meteorological Day, the WMO released the Statement on the Status of the Climate in 2014, which: provides details of weather extremes in 2014 and the impacts of climate change; and reiterates that 2014 was the hottest year on record, by a very small margin. The Statement details key findings related to: temperatures; rain, snow and ice; oceans; regional analysis; tropical cyclones; and greenhouse gases (GHG) and ozone-depleting substances (ODS). It also describes major weather and climate events that took place in 2014.
An event was held to mark the Day, with speakers including Jarraud, Maria Neira, World Health Organization (WHO), and Alberto Troccoli, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia. Live video discussions included participation of staff members at the Global Atmosphere Watch Ushuaia Station, Isla Grande de la Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, and presentations from Model UN students in France. A private sector forum also convened and focused on climate information needs of the energy sector.
Since 1961, World Meteorological Day has commemorated the entry into force of the Convention establishing the WMO on 23 March 1950, and the contributions of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. [World Meteorological Day Website] [WMO Press Release] [Statement of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon] [Statement of WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud] [WMO Press Release on Statement on the Status of the Climate in 2014] [WMO Statement on the Status of the Climate in 2014] [Programme of World Meteorological Day Event] [Private Sector Forum Programme]