Success story

Throughout the last twelve months, the Met Office has been at the forefront of providing critical safety advice to the public. Through snow, flooding and volcanoes the Met Office has been vital. As I write, work continues on monitoring the spread of the ash plume from the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, keeping everyone up to date with the latest information.

We are rightly proud of our UK and international safety role. Last November, accurate forecasts of floods in Cumbria, Durham and Scotland served our customers well. Extensive flooding was much easier to deal with because of warnings from our new joint Flood Forecasting Centre. The new supercomputer and the 1.5 km model performed especially well during these floods.

Progress and change

This year, the Met Office has pushed ahead with new mobile applications to keep the public informed wherever they are. Various examples of innovation, such as our iPhone application, can be found on pages.

The challenge of communicating the science of climate change is considerable but we're at the forefront of building public confidence in climate science. Now, more than ever, it is the reputable source of the science which matters. The Met Office is very thorough in the way it considers and peer reviews its science; ensuring its advice is transparent and trusted. As well as publishing station records and explaining new science, we've communicated through our Warming brochure, our website and briefings across all sectors.

Despite some criticism from the media, 82% of the public have moderate to high trust in the Met Office. We've listened to public feedback and replaced our seasonal forecasts with a monthly outlook. Discover how we manage customer feedback and find out what people really think about us.

Delivering with integrity

Consistent delivery is something that John Hirst, Met Office Chief Executive, insists on. It is clear that the good work we do as an organisation depends on the dedication and hard work of our people.

The Met Office prides itself on its peer reviewed science. Earlier this year, the Met Office Hadley Centre was named as the top geosciences institution in the world by the Times Higher Educational Supplement, as well as some of our other international successes.

Rightly being praised for its high quality output, the Met Office Hadley Centre celebrated its 20th Birthday this year and is a great institution on a global scale and a jewel in the UK's crown. We continue to help people across the world with our expertise, advising a range of clients on the opportunities and challenges of a changing climate.

Again this year we've demonstrated our integrity in both a technical and personal sense. As Chairman, I'm particularly grateful for the commitment and spirit of Met Office staff. Let's hope that this success story continues.

• To find out more about what we do, take a look at this year's Annual Report and our new Corporate Responsibility brochure on the corporate publications pages of our website.