It is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It is the UN system's authoritative voice on the state and behaviour of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with the oceans, the climate it produces and the
resulting distribution of water resources. WMO has a membership of 191 Member States and Territories
(on 1 January 2013). It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), which was
founded in 1873. Established in 1950, WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations in
1951 for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences. As
weather, climate and the water cycle know no national boundaries, international cooperation at a global
scale is essential for the development of meteorology and operational hydrology as well as to reap the
benefits from their application. WMO provides the framework for such international cooperation.
Since its establishment, WMO has played a unique and powerful role in contributing to the safety and
welfare of humanity. Under WMO leadership and within the framework of WMO programmes, National
Meteorological and Hydrological Services contribute substantially to the protection of life and property
against natural disasters, to safeguarding the environment and to enhancing the economic and social
well-being of all sectors of society in areas such as food security, water resources and transport. WMO
promotes cooperation in the establishment of networks for making meteorological, climatological,
hydrological and geophysical observations, as well as the exchange, processing and standardization of
related data, and assists technology transfer, training and research. It also fosters collaboration between
the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services of its Members and furthers the application of
meteorology to public weather services, agriculture, aviation, shipping, the environment, water issues
and the mitigation of the impacts of natural disasters.
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