To the media, weather forecasts and reports are an indispensable daily diet. Moreover, in  the days and hours before a big storm, the weather report can become a front page story, or lead television and broadcast news. 

A combination of developments - space and satellite technology, high-tech computers and increasingly sophisticated media techniques - has transformed both weather forecasting and public expectations.

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations that has a long history of involvement with the prevention of natural disasters and in the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR) activities worldwide, these revolutionary techniques and the increasing influence of the mass media have brought about a fundamental change in the art of disseminating weather  information to the public. Amid all the technological advances, the media's ability to transmit weather reports to the public nationally and worldwide is of key importance. 

In order to enhance the capacities of the national Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) of its Members, WMO regularly conducts  workshops in media relations and communication skills training, as well as in building partnerships with media and other organizations. 

WMO trains broadcast meteorologists to improve their weather presentations on television and radio, so that valuable information, such as early pin-point detection and forecasting of potentially destructive storms and other natural disasters can be relayed to those in harms way, thus saving tens of thousands of lives every year.

WMO has produced a practical manual entitled "Weather and the media: a press relations guide" in English, French, Russian and Spanish, for use by its senior staff and those responsible for Information and Public Affairs in the NMHS. Another WMO publication which highlights the role of broadcast and print media as both major clients and important partners of NMHS is the "Guide to public weather services practices". 

This guide which has been published in the same four languages aims to provide comprehensive information to meteorologists about those practices and procedures which are of great importance for providing meteorological services to the public in support of the safety of life and property and for the sustainable development of nations.**

**Amended text from "Weather and the Media: a Press Relations Guide" Geneva,  WMO , Pub. No. 861, 1997.)

We welcome your comments, suggestions and contribution.
Amjad Bhatti  afbhatti@hotmail.com
Phone: 92 51 8 088, 8 009
Duryog Nivaran dnnet@itdg.lanka.net
Journalists Resource Centre jrc@syberwurx.com

Phone: + 92 42 6666404 - 6687827
 

 

 
E-mail: jrc@syberwurx.com