When we talk about meteorology, the first thing that comes to most people’s minds is daily weather forecasts. In fact, when we think of weather forecasts, we focus on simple aspects. Will it be sunny or will it rain? Should I wear a warm jacket or just a jumper? However, the real dimension of meteorology goes far beyond such trivial matters. Weather is extremely relevant in several industries, including the energy, water, agriculture, aviation, health, and security sectors.
Weather As Entertainment
Through the collection and analysis of information related to the atmosphere, including air humidity, atmospheric pressure, air temperature and rainfall volume, meteorologists can draw up a forecast of the weather for any region.
In this sense, weather forecasts have come a long way, as people nowadays don’t even have to look out the window to check if it’s sunny or raining. Extensive knowledge and weather prediction can now be accessed online and with smartphone apps. Apps can offer users the latest reports on the weather and detail hour-by-hour changes in temperature, sun intensity, humidity, and many other factors.
Making the weather predictable, or at least a gamble, has inspired many TV shows, including the Storm Chasers series, the Raging Nature series and PBS’s docuseries, Wild Weather. Even in the gambling sector, slots such as Eye of the Storm and North Storm, which can be found at Genesis Casino, have been inspired by extreme weather conditions, namely sandstorms and ice snowstorms. Users interested in combining their enthusiasm for slots and weather forecasts can easily access these games to get a sense of the atmosphere of a real storm.
Meteorology as a Scientific Instrument
Weather forecasting is an essential tool in the economic development of any country. It affects agriculture, traffic, power consumption and production, but also the sustainability of cities and housing. But that’s not all. The information offered by weather forecasts can also be essential in the prevention of accidents, natural catastrophes, wildfire prevention, and the prediction of potential losses in agriculture.
In fact, weather forecasting is one of the most ancient sciences in the modern world. In recent years, through the use of technology, meteorology has understood climate variables and has gained a new dimension. This has been useful in understanding climate change and predicting how humanity’s action on the planet can affect weather and life on earth in the years to come.
Over time, the instruments used by meteorologists have developed. With them, the accuracy of weather forecasts has been greatly improved. Among these instruments, we can mention the hygrometer, created in the Middle Ages, Leonardo da Vinci’s weathervane, Galileo Galilei’s thermometer and Evangelista Torricelli’s barometer.
Throughout the 20th century, data elaboration techniques changed radically as satellite images, used by the Met Office, for example, became one of the most reliable ways to predict atmospheric conditions. These changes have allowed meteorological science to be more accurate, which has helped guide the intensity of economic and social actions on the planet but has also provided key improvements to quality of life. According to the UN, as a result of the improvements in weather forecasting, alert systems and preparation for natural disasters, in the last 12 months, thousands of lives have been saved around the world.
Going forward, it is expected that the incorporation of artificial intelligence and Big Data can result in a convergence of information that can change weather forecasts once again by finding patterns and recurring events that current technologies might overlook.