The theme for this year’s World Meteorological Day is “Polar meteorology: understanding global impacts” in recognition of the importance of, and as a contribution to, International Polar Year (IPY) 2007-2008, which is being co-sponsored by the World Meteorological Organisation and the International Council for Science.
Every year, on 23 March, the WMO’s 187 members, including Malta – which is represented by the Meteorological Office of Malta International Airport – celebrate World Meteorological Day, which marks the entry into force, on that date in 1950, of the WMO convention creating the organisation.
Subsequently, in 1951, the WMO was designated a specialised agency of the United Nations’ system.
Through the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services and other institutions of its members, the WMO will be making substantial contributions to the new IPY in the areas of polar meteorology, oceanography, glaciology and hydrology, in terms of scientific research and observations.
During the last decades, significant changes were detected in the polar environment, such as a decrease in the perennial sea ice, the melting of some glaciers and permafrost and a decrease in river and lake ice.
The 2001 Third Assessment Report of the WMO-cosponsored Intergovern-mental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicates that the Earth’s global mean surface temperature increased by approximately 0.6ºC over the 20th century.
The report further estimates that globally averaged surface temperatures would be rising by 1.4 to 5.8ºC over the period 1990-2100.
Overall, the IPCC has estimated that, by the year 2100, sea-level will have increased between 9cm and 88cm, which would pose a very significant problem for many small island developing states and, in general, for all low-lying areas of the world.
Currently, the IPCC is in the process of preparing its Fourth Assessment Report, which will be released later this year.
It is impossible to overemphasise the fundamental impacts of the polar regions on the global climate system as a whole.
Changes in the polar regions can and do have significant impacts on all ecosystems and on all human societies, throughout the earth.
Therefore, the impacts of polar meteorology must be considered within the broadest context.
Polar ice constitutes effective thermal caps which play a critical role in sustaining the global oceanic circulation.
Moreover, the polar regions have a primordial role in determining the global climate system, which is driven by the energy received from the sun, mostly close to the equator.
As a whole, the equator receives, over the year, about five times as much heat energy as the poles.
The atmosphere and the oceans respond to this large temperature gradient by transporting heat towards the poles.
Therefore, the two polar regions are linked to the rest of the Earth’s climate system.
The International Polar Year 2007-2008 will, therefore, be addressing a wide range of physical, biological and social issues, closely or indirectly linked to the polar regions.
Meteorology has long been recognised as a science without frontiers and polar meteorology is perhaps the ultimate example of this principle.
The outcomes of this endeavour will contribute to a better understanding of climate variability and climate change, as well as to the development of much-needed climate applications to address some of the major challenges of the 21st century.