In his essay Suggestions on a Uniform System of Meteorological Observations, he described in detail what he thought was the way forward for meteorology as a proper science. This time, there was considerable enthusiasm for the idea but, alas, the only action that was taken was the unanimous adoption of a resolution which recognized the importance of making meteorological observations at places around the world which appeared to be especially significant for shedding light on the nature of atmospheric circulations. In the event, though, governments showed little enthusiasm for such a meeting and the International Meteorological Committee agreed at its meeting in Zurich in 1888 that the congress should not be reconvened. Subsequent developments in atmospheric science in the 18th Century confirmed the need for widespread measurement and uniform transnational measurement scales. 11 Oct. 49 at 12th Conference of Directors of International Meteorological Organization (IMO), an international non-governmental organization fd. Further consideration of the status of IMO in Copenhagen led, however, to the adoption of a resolution, which moved that official recognition of the Organization by governments was desirable. At the meeting of the International Meteorological Committee in Salzburg in 1937, Dr Hesselberg proposed a transfer date of 1 January 1939, but no agreement for this proposal could be reached. Eventually, the Secretariat took matters into their own hands. The Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) is a co-sponsored programme which regularly assesses the status of global climate observations and produces guidance for its improvement.

WIGOS provides the new overarching framework for all WMO observing systems and for WMO contributions to co-sponsored observing systems in support of all WMO activities.

For over a decade, there was competition between this commission and IMO’s Commission for the Application of Meteorology to Aerial Navigation. In the event, the Second World War intervened.

upstream and downstream is needed for weather forecasting. The possibility of using wireless telegraphy to transmit storm warnings from coastal stations to ships at sea was also recognized around this time. These three drafts were then submitted to national meteorological services and their governments for perusal. A second congress in Rome 1879 decided on the IMO establishment and elected an International Meteorological Committee to prepare for the next Conference of Directors. Formation had to wait until 1907, when a Commission for Storm Warnings and Maritime Meteorology was created. The Commission for Radiation and Insolation was established to co-ordinate actinometric research programmes and review the instruments used for measuring solar and terrestrial radiation.

The need for a Maritime Meteorology Commission was first discussed at the meeting of the International Meteorological Committee held in St Petersburg in 1899, but approval for its formation was not forthcoming. The 1896 Conference of Directors in Paris established more commissions: the Commission for Radiation and Insolation, and the Commission for Aeronautics. The change of heart came about when the potential of an important technological development was recognized – the possibility of using wireless telegraphy to transmit to coastal stations weather reports from ships at sea. In particular, he considered it desirable that governments should have a greater influence on the work of the Organization, given the steadily increasing practical importance of meteorology.

The 400 resolutions reflected the wide range of topics that had been considered at the meetings of the technical and regional commissions in Toronto the previous month – codes, units, diagrams, symbols, instruments, methods of observation, station networks, telecommunications, the safety of air navigation, climatological statistics, publications, documents, education, professional training, meteorological research, legal issues and administrative matters.

The coming expansion of civil aviation, with ever-longer flights over continents and oceans, was clear to all, and the need for aircraft reconnaissance flights and ocean weather ships was also recognized. This was published in Paris in 1896 and a more-definitive second edition appeared in 1910. Hesselberg of Norway in 1956.

Wireless telegraphy was increasingly used by ships at sea, and an IMO Commission for Radiotelegraphy on the Oceans was established in 1923. It was born from the realization that weather systems move across country boundaries; and that knowledge of pressure, temperature, precipitations, etc. WMO had already negotiations with the International Council of Science and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO to propose to world community to hold International Polar Year as a joint initiative. He considered, too, that the Organization must be able to rely on adequate resources, so that efficient co-operation should not be hampered by financial difficulties.