Met Office Chief Executive elected to WMO Executive Council

19 June 2008

John Hirst (left) has replaced John Mitchell (right) as Permanent Representative of the UK with the WMO and member of the EC.

The Chief Executive of the Met Office, John Hirst, has been elected a member of the Executive Council (EC) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UN specialist agency responsible for weather, water and climate.

He has also taken the role as the UK's Permanent Representative with the WMO, representing the UK's meteorological community and ensuring the exchange of observations and weather forecasts between national meteorological services across the world.

Met Office Chief Executive, John Hirst, said: "I am delighted to have been elected to the Executive Council of WMO, and to take up the role of Permanent Representative. The Met Office has always been a prominent member of the global meteorological community and I look forward to continuing our work supporting national meteorological services across the developing world."

Through the WMO's Voluntary Cooperation Programme (VCP) the Met Office works with national meteorological services in developing countries to support the development of their weather forecasting and climate prediction programmes.

Within the VCP the Met Office has provided TV weather broadcast equipment to over 40 developing countries, contributing significantly to the effectiveness of severe weather warnings and ultimately protecting life and property across the developing world. Alongside this the Met Office has also provided its regional climate model enabling governments, who may otherwise not have access to such data, develop strategies to adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Notes:

• The WMO is the UN specialist agency responsible for weather, water and climate. It co-ordinates programmes for the exchange of observational data and forecast products in real time between national met. services. These are essential for Met Office services.
• Representation on the Executive Council is critical for the UK. By doing so we will be able to continue the huge progress that has been made in the last few years in improving the transparency, financial governance and value for money that the UK gets from the WMO.