World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Why in news:

• The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that various meteorological parameters indicate that La Niña, which began in September, is approaching its peak and may return to neutral conditions only late next summer.
• Scientists said this could mean a long, harsh winter in north India and could have an impact on the coming monsoon depending on the status of La Niña in May, June and July.

About WMO

• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• It is dedicated to international cooperation and coordination on the :
  • State and behaviour of the Earth’s atmosphere.
  • Its interaction with the land and oceans.
  • The weather and climate.
  • The resulting distribution of water resources. 

Functions:

• National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of WMO provides
  • Daily weather forecasts.
  • Early and reliable warnings of high-impact weather and climate events.
• The stations of the ‘WMO Global Atmosphere Watch’ play a vital role in
  • Detecting climate variability and change by monitoring long-term changes in levels of:
    • Greenhouse gases
    • Solar radiation etc.
• The WMO promotes water-resource assessments by National Hydrological Services, which, in turn, provide the forecasts needed to plan water storage for:
  • Domestic requirements
  • Agricultural activities
  • Hydroelectric power generation etc.

IPCC:

• The WMO and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) jointly created Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
• IPCC received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007, for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about anthropogenic climate change.

Prelims Question

Consider the following statements regarding La Nina:
1.It is marked by lower-than-normal sea surface temperature across the eastern equatorial part of the central Pacific.
2.La Nina is a short time phenomenon that lasts less than a week normally.
Which among the above statements is/are correct?
(a)1 only 
(b)2 only 
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to prelims question