ICAO and the World Meteorological Organization
Meteorology has become an essential component of modern life, influencing various aspects from agriculture to transportation, from tourism to energy. Meteorologists not only forecast the weather but also study climate trends, analyze data on global climate change, and develop adaptation strategies.
From the early days of aviation, it was realized that meteorological information was vital for the planning and a constant factor for the safe conduct of flights; pilots need to be informed about meteorological conditions along the routes to be flown and at their destination aerodromes. The high operating cost of modern aircraft means that optimum use must be made of available meteorological information and that forecasting accuracy must continue to be improved. The increasing use of flight management computers and the establishment on-board aircraft of reliable data links between aircraft and ground make it possible to monitor flight progress and update flight plans on the basis of new weather conditions.
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Brunei – 30 April 1986 Admission to International Organizations Logos of WMO, ITU, UPU, ICAO |
From about 1830, the countries of Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas began to set up central meteorological offices with different names, such as meteorological institutes or offices, observatories, central stations, central offices.
Beginning in 1853, many of the world’s leading maritime countries tried to establish an international system for collecting meteorological observations made by ship at sea.
The first Conference on Maritime Meteorology opened its proceedings at Brussels, Belgium, on 23 August 1853 at the instigation of US Navy Officer Lieutenant Matthew Fontaine Maury (Hydrographer and Pioneer in oceanography, 1806-1873) and led by the Director of the Brussels Royal Observatory of Belgium, Adolphe Quetelet (1796-1874). With the participation of Prince Lèopold of Belgium, the Conference was attended by Naval Officers from ten countries and was a turning point in international maritime meteorological research with a multidisciplinary approach.
It took nearly 20 years for a similar, more extensive, conference to discuss land-based observations. This conference was held in Leipzig, Germany, on 14-16 August 1872. In total, 52 participants from 9 countries attended. Instead of an agenda, the invitation included a set of 26 questions. The time available for the meeting during the 3 days was limited, so some of the questions had to be discussed in smaller groups to ensure that all were covered by the end of the meeting. Because the Leipzig Meteorological Conference was purely a scientific conference, no binding international agreements could be made. However, the questions were worked on to such an extent that they served as proposals for a meteorological congress the following year, opening the way for modern weather forecasting.
The history of meteorology moved fast, creating conditions under which Professors Karl Bruhns of Germany, Karl Jelinek of Austria and Heinrich Wild of Switzerland proposed a preparatory meeting for a permanent international body responsible for meteorological matters.
On the opening of the Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geomagnetism in Vienna, Prof Carl Jelinek (1822-1876), invited, in Vienna from 2 to 16 September 1873, the directors of the meteorological services from various countries and territories throughout the world to the first International Meteorological Congress which tasked a Permanent Meteorological Committee to draft the rules and statutes of an International Meteorological Organization (IMO, in French: Organisation Météorologique Internationale) and to facilitate the exchange of weather information across national borders. This marked the beginning of organized meteorology carrying out ambitious programs to perfect and standardize international meteorological observations and to exchange such information internationally. Later, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) defined the 1873 congress in Vienna as the founding of the International Meteorological Organization; all anniversaries of the WMO are based on this conference.
At the time of the First Congress of Vienna in 1873, it had been hoped that a second International Meteorological Congress should take place in three years’ time, but for various reasons the meeting was postponed until 1879. The 2nd International Meteorological Congress was held in Rome in April 1879, on the invitation of the Italian Government. This Congress decided on the IMO establishment and elected an International Meteorological Committee to prepare a system of Conferences of Directors, instead of further Congresses, to serve as the primary mechanism for international meteorological cooperation. Heinrich von Wild (1833-1902) became the first President of the IMO, which remained a non-intergovernmental organization. The IMO became the predecessor to the modern World Meteorological Organization (WMO) after World War II. Delegates agreed to promote the free exchange of weather data and standardized observation methods, crucial for comparing data collected by different nations.
Note that an International Meteorological Congress was held in Paris from 24 to 28 August 1878, as part of the 1878 World’s Fair at the Palais du Trocadéro.
The Convention Relating to the Regulation of Aerial Navigation (creating the International Commission for Air Navigation, ICAN) was signed on 13 October 1919; it constitutes the first successful attempt at the common regulation of international air navigation and lays the foundations of air law. Cooperation between ICAN and IMO technical commissions related to aeronautical meteorology was ensured to reduce duplication as much as possible, although with some difficulties. Further Conferences of Directors were held until 1946, when the Conference of Directors of that year acknowledged the need for an organization supported by governments.
The Convention on International Civil Aviation, which came into force on 4 April 1947, had made provision for Annex I on Meteorological protection of international aeronautics. As standards were developed by ICAO, either the subjects of annexes were split or new annexes were conceived, and most of the titles were revised. Thus, a new Annex 3 titled Meteorological Codes was created and later renamed Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation. The purpose of this Annex is to make provision of meteorological information to operators, flight crew members, air traffic services units, search and rescue units, airport management and others concerned with aviation.
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WMO Logo |
In the meantime, the IMO worked mainly towards its transformation into a new Organization, with representatives of the respective countries, not their weather services. A conference of directors of national meteorological services met at Washington, D.C., from 22 September to 11 October 1947 under the auspices of the International Meteorological Organization and adopted the World Meteorological Convention, establishing the World Meteorological Organization (WMO, in French: Organisation Météorologique Mondiale, OMM) as the successor of the IMO. On 23 March 1950, after 30 signers had ratified or acceded to the convention, it came into force.
Working arrangements between ICAO and WMO were agreed and approved by both organizations during 1953 (approved by the Council of ICAO on 21 May 1953 and by the Executive Committee of WMO on 23 October 1953) for the entry into force on 1 January 1954; an amendment to those arrangements was approved by the WMO Executive Committee on 16 October 1962 and by the ICAO Council on 26 November 1962 to become effective on 1 January 1963. The arrangements were designed to secure close cooperation and to establish machinery regarding the allocation to one organization or the other of primary responsibility for certain sectors within the field of common interest. In accordance with that document, ICAO is responsible for specifying the needs of the users/customers of aeronautical meteorological services, whereas WMO is responsible for providing the aviation community with operational meteorological information. WMO and ICAO maintain close and constant cooperation in keeping under review the requirements of meteorological services for aviation and in the adoption of procedures for the provision of these services, as well as keeping them up to date.
WMO Aeronautical Meteorology Programme is to further the application of meteorology to aviation by providing the aviation community with operational meteorological information. The main long-term objective of this programme is to ensure the worldwide provision of cost-effective and responsive meteorological services; in order to achieve this objective, WMO maintains close cooperation with its Member National Meteorological Services, and partner organizations, particularly ICAO and IATA.
IMO and later WMO established a Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology (abbreviated by CAMé and later CAeM), the main purposes of which are to assist Members in improving delivery of aeronautical meteorological observations and forecast services, and in applying quality standards in line with the requirements of aviation users; to coordinate the development and implementation of aeronautical meteorological services in support of safe and efficient Air Traffic Management, in collaboration with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); to provide the best available guidance, resource material and coordination for aeronautical meteorological education and training to Members in cooperation with the regional associations, ICAO regional groups and the Education and Training Office of the WMO Secretariat.
ICAO and WMO have maintained formal working arrangements since 1954. After seventy years of productive cooperation, the Secretary General of ICAO, Mr. Juan Carlos Salazar, and the Secretary-General of the WMO, Prof. Celeste Saulo, signed on 25 June 2024 and on 9 July 2024 respectively an update to the agreement that strengthens the longstanding collaboration between the two organizations. The updated working arrangements will enable both organizations to better serve the needs of ICAO Member States, WMO Members, and meteorological and aviation stakeholder communities across the public and private sectors. The working arrangements will be reviewed every five years and updated as necessary to ensure continued relevance and effectiveness.
The World Meteorological Organization celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2025. The World Meteorological Convention was ratified on 23 March 1950 and hence created the World Meteorological Organization replacing the International Meteorological Organization. The First World Meteorological Day was held on 23 March 1961.
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Service cover sent by the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), Lausanne, Switzerland to Albert Roper, Secretary General of the Provisional International Civil Aviation Organization (PICAO) – Postmarked on 14 April 1947. It is interesting to note that ICAO came into being on 4 April 1947, just a few days before this cover was sent to Montréal.
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Service cover (front and back pictures) sent by ICAO Regional Office in Paris to WMO Secretary General in Geneva. Postmarked on 25 November 1955. Red meter showing ICAO’s early emblem in use at that time.
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Service cover sent from WMO to ICAO Secretary General. Metered stamp dated 5 March 1959.
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Argentina – Second Thematic Philatelic Exhibition (TEMEX ’60, sponsored by AFITA, Asociación Filatélica Temática Argentina) held in Buenos Aires from 4 from 9 December 1960. During this exhibition, a total of 12 covers were released paying tribute to the United Nations, its Programmes and Specialized Agencies; all covers are similar, except for the emblem, the colours of the UN Buildings in New York and the date of release. These covers were issued on different dates ranging from 4 to 9 December 1960; the above cover (see front and back) related to WMO was dated 8 December 1960. On the back of the cover, note the numbering and the number of 500 copies printed.
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Service cover sent by the Ministry of Marine and Civil Aviation of Burma (the official English name until 1989; Myanmar now) to ICAO Secretary General. The postmark dated on 23 Mars 1961 celebrates the First World Meteorological Day established on that day. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) came into being on 23 March 1950.
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Registered FDC with the special WMO cancel; inscription “100 years of International Meteorological Cooperation 1873 - 1973.” All anniversaries of WMO are based on the 1873 founding conference. Photo Credit: The Journal of the United Nations Philatelists - Vol. 49 #2, April 2025.
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Registered to service cover sent by WMO ICAO Technical Assistance Bureau. Postmarked on 23 Mars 1979.
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Service cover sent by WMO to ICAO Secretary General. Metered stamp dated 27 July 1982.
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Service cover sent by WMO in 2009 to ICAO Secretary General In 2009, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) addressed a range of issues in order to enhance the provision of critical weather, climate and water assessments and services, as shown by the motto on the above envelope. |
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