Professor Stephen Belcher, the Met Office Chief of Science and Technology, has been awarded the honour of Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) for his services to climate science.  

Professor Belcher has worked in the field of climate science research for over 35 years, becoming the Met Office Chief Scientist in 2016. Stephen has overall responsibility for the leadership and management of the Met Office’s scientific programme, by providing strategic direction, ensuring high quality delivery and nurturing scientific excellence.  

On hearing the announcement of the New Years Honours list, Professor Stephen Belcher, said: “Charting the future of weather and climate responds to some of the most pressing challenges of our time, but also poses some of the most difficult scientific and technical challenges. These challenges have fascinated me throughout my career from University teaching and research to working at the Met Office to ensure this science and technology is used for practical good.  

“I have been incredibly fortunate to work with some of the brightest minds in the world to ensure that the very best science is used to make decisions here in the UK, and around the world, to inspire action, preventing and protecting us from the worst impacts of climate change.” 

Stephen represents the Met Office on science and research technology to UK Government, ensuring that the Met Office science programme fits properly into the wider UK environmental science landscape. He also works closely with the Government Chief Scientific Advisor (CSA), as well as CSAs from other Government Departments.  

Met Office Chief Executive, Professor Penny Endersby, said: “Warmest congratulations to Stephen for this well-deserved recognition. Stephen has been a key driver in cementing the Met Office’s reputation as a global authority on climate science and the application of our robust data to inform decision-making across industry and government both nationally and internationally. His work is more important than ever as the Met Office strives to ensure UK citizens are able to thrive in a rapidly changing world.” 

Career background 

Professor Stephen Belcher obtained his PhD in fluid dynamics from the University of Cambridge in 1990 and has subsequently published over 175 peer-reviewed papers on weather and climate. Having completed his PhD he became a research fellow at Stanford and Cambridge Universities.  

In 1994 he moved to the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, where he served as Head of the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences between 2007 and 2010.  In 2010 he became the Joint Met Office Chair in Weather Systems. This role gave him a taster of working closely with the Met Office, and in 2012 he joined the Met Office as Director of the Met Office Hadley Centre.