Royal Meteorological Society

Royal Meteorological Society ; (RMetS)
legal form	Registered Charity, No. 208222
founding	3 April 1850 in Aylesbury , Buckinghamshire
founder	James Glaisher , John Lee, Samuel Charles Whitebread, and seven others.
Seat	104 Oxford Road, Reading RG1 7LL, Berkshire
motto	Promote understanding and application of meteorology for the benefit of all. ; (To promote the understanding and application of meteorology for the benefit of all.)
main emphasis	meteorology
Action space	England , Wales and Scotland
Chair	David Warrilow (President)
Managing directors	Shanti Majithia (General Secretary); Liz Bentley (Chief Executive)
sales	£ 1.2m (2018)
Employees	12
Volunteers	398
Members	between ~ 2900 and ~ 3350 (2000 to 2018)
Website	www.rmets.org

Royal Meteorological Society ( RMetS ) is a not-for-profit scientific society founded in 1850 as the British Meteorological Society to promote meteorology and the general application of acquired knowledge.

history

prehistory

On October 15, 1823, the Meteorological Society of London was founded in London . Among the founding members were well-known names of the time, for example Luke Howard , William Haseldine Pepys , John Frederic Daniell and George Birkbeck . This society published a volume "Transactions" in 1839, two volumes in 1841 and 1842 "Proceedings" and a Quarterly Journal in 1843 and 1844.

After March 18, 1843, this society does not appear to have held any more meetings. It was not formally dissolved until 1849. In 1843 the society had a considerable number of members. But because some were discussing the influence of the moon and stars on weather, the more rational members seemed to have lost interest.

Even though records of the weather have been regularly made in Germany at the Hohenpeissenberg Meteorological Observatory since 1781 , the recording of weather phenomena in Great Britain had been largely left to the whims of individuals until then. However, many scientists realized that a change had to be made here.

founding

On April 3, 1850, three Fellows of the Royal Society and seven Fellows of the Royal Astronomical Society met in the library of Dr. John Lee in Aylesbury , Buckinghamshire , England . They discussed how meteorological observations could be carried out in a systematic way, how they could be recorded, summarized and published in order to make them accessible to research. They decided to found a scientific society with the aim of promoting and expanding meteorological science by discovering the laws of climate and meteorological phenomena in general. They named their new society the British Meteorological Society . The society, like other scientific societies, should hold regular meetings, discuss scientific papers of its members, and promote the development of science. They elected Samuel Charles Whitebread, who was present, to be the first president . James Glaisher became the first general secretary.

The next meeting of the society took place on May 7, 1850 and already attracted 90 people, including well-known meteorologists like Luke Howard . In 1866 the company was converted into a corporation by Queen Victoria with a Royal Charter of Incorporation . It therefore changed its name to The Meteorological Society . In 1883 the Queen allowed the use of the title Royal and the Society became the Royal Meteorological Society .

The new century

On the 50th anniversary of its founding, the society had over 600 members. In 1921 the Society merged with the Scottish Meteorological Society, founded in 1855, and in the same year increased membership to over 900. In 1946, a year after the end of World War II , the Society published its organ Weather for the first time . The number of members grew rapidly after the war and by 1947 had already exceeded 1700 members. This increase in membership during and after the war reflected an increased interest in meteorology, particularly among members associated with the Royal Air Force .

In 1997 the number of members reached almost 3700, the highest level ever. Members are both lay people and experts from all over the world.

In 2002, the Prince of Wales took over the patronage of the company.

Common good

The requirements of the Charity Commission for England and Wales name thirteen possible purposes an organization can do for public benefit. The RMetS fulfills four of these reasons:

Promoting health and saving lives: Through a partnership with the General Aviation Safety Council (GASCo), the UK Flight Safety Committee (UKFSC) and the Royal Institute of Navigation (RIN), the company provides advice on safety-related issues. Private pilots and seafarers are trained in weather phenomena through courses and training, which reduces the number of weather-related accidents. As a cooperation partner of Eurocontrol and with the support of SKYEbrary, the company contributes to the [international] exchange of weather-related information. Bodies other than the RMetS are responsible for the meteorological training of flight personnel. However, the RMetS advises them to meet the standards of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Promoting education: The society has a broad educational mandate, according to which it is supposed to promote the knowledge, understanding and enthusiasm for meteorology among the public, from laypeople to specialist scientists. The Society has two full-time workers dedicated to promoting education and research, working with the Institute of Physics , the Royal Geographical Society, and the Geographical Association to achieve this end.
The promotion of the arts, culture, heritage or science: The society promotes a professional, equitable attitude towards the profession and the public, publishes seven scientific journals that are available online at no cost to developing countries through the WMO, and through events that are accessible to anyone interested, it enables a discourse between lay people and experts in the field of meteorology.

RMetS building in Reading, Berkshire

The promotion of environmental protection or environmental improvement: Society is at a key position in communicating the more complex meteorological and technical aspects of climate change. A Special Interests Group deals with the communication of meteorologically relevant information to the public. In 2018, two information brochures were published for this purpose, Modeling the Earth's Climate and El Niño and the Southern Oscillation . In addition, information events were held in 2018 in which the 1.5 ° target was explained.

Society archive

The Society Archives are located in Exeter at the National Meteorological Archive . In addition to the company minutes and notes from well-known meteorologists, the archive also contains rare books. Among the documents owned by the company are the originals of the Beaufort scale .

activities

Generally speaking, the RMetS pursues its goals by:

Financially supported individuals
Organizations financially supported
Is active in an advisory, representative or informative manner
Funded or supported research

Professional development

The company maintains two accreditation lines with which specialists can continue their education according to the guidelines and guidelines of the company. Accredited meteorologists may then call themselves Registered Meteorologists ( RMet ) or Chartered Meteorologists (CMet). In 2018 there were 71 professional meteorologists who were allowed to call themselves CMet and 123 who were allowed to call themselves RMet. Not every application was accepted. The company aims to increase the numbers to around 100 CMets and 300 RMets by the end of 2020. Further training courses are offered for the Royal Navy , the Met Office and the MeteoGroup .

Individual support is provided in cooperation with universities and institutes, for example through grants and research projects.

Publications of the society

An important part of the activities deals with scientific publications, i.e. mainly peer-reviewed journals . The Society publishes the following periodicals in collaboration with Wiley-Blackwell :

Weather (member magazine of RMetS)
International Journal of Climatology (Impact Factors 2017: 3.1)
The Quarterly Journal (one of the best meteorological journals in the world, Impact Factor 2017: 2,978)
Meteorological Applications
Atmospheric Science Letters
WIRE's Climate Change (Impact Factor 2017: 5,124)
Geoscience Data Journal

Relations with other bodies

As the UK's scientific society, the Royal Meteorological Society is represented on the Science Council by its Chief Executive. Furthermore, the RMetS is a member of the European Meteorological Society (EMS), where it is represented by the Secretary General as a permanent member of the EMS Council. In addition, the RMetS is represented by a representative in the International Forum of Meteorological Societies . RMetS representatives attend meetings of the General Aviation Safety Council (GASCo) and the UK Flight Safety Committee (UKFSC) to provide expertise on weather phenomena.

Joint activities are carried out with other companies. With the Royal Horticultural Society , courses are held on the subject of horticulture during climate change . The aim of the company is to disseminate knowledge about climate and climate phenomena and thus to promote public discourse. Other companies and corporations are:

the Grantham Institute
the Environmental Physics Group
the Manchester Met University
the Met Office
the Royal Astronomical Society and Imperial College, London
the Royal Institute of Navigation
the Royal Museums Greenwich
the Royal Yachting Association
and many others

Prizes and awards

Every year the RMetS awards various awards to scientists who have proven themselves in promoting knowledge of the weather and climate. Some of the awards are given through the publications, for example the Wiley-sponsored International Journal of Climatology Editor's Award , the Atmospheric Science Letters Editor's Award , the Quarterly Journal (QJ) Editor's Award , QJ Reviewer's Certificate , or the Meteorological Applications Editor's Award .

organization

The highest body is the House Committee , chaired by the Secretary General , which determines the strategic direction of the company and organizes and controls the activities of the other committees. Members of the House Committee lead other committees, including:

Meetings and Conferences Committee
Education and Outreach Committee
Climate Science Communications Group
Professional Accreditation Board
Scientific Publishing Committee
Awards Committee

Operational management

In 2018 the company employed 13 people. Under the direction of a Chief Executive, staff units for finance, management of the office, scientific publications and the maintenance of the relationship network (Head of Partnerships) are managed. In line seven functions are managed:

Conference Manager
Meetings manager
Membership Secretary
Public Engagement Program Manager
Head of Education
IT project manager
Digital Project Manager

Local groups (Local Centers)

Membership events are organized to a large extent by local groups. Groups exist in many regions of England, Scotland and Wales. The activities are based on the general directions of the RMetS as reflected in the committees.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Malcolm Walker (Education Officer, Royal Meteorological Society): The Royal Meteorological Society as seen through its membership . In: Royal Meteorological Society (ed.): Weather . tape 55 , no. 4 . RMetS, S. 104 - 108 (English, rmets.org [PDF; 362 kB ; accessed on June 9, 2020]).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am The 168th Annual Report of the Royal Meteorological Society for the period 1st January - 31st December 2018. (PDF) In: Website of the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Charity Commission for England and Wales, accessed June 11, 2020 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o R. Corless: A brief History of the Royal Meteorological Society . In: Royal Meteorological Society (ed.): Weather . tape 5 , no. 3 . Wiley-Blackwell, March 1950, pp. 78-83 , doi : 10.1002 / j.1477-8696.1950.tb01151.x .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k History of the Society. In: Royal Meteorological Society website. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .
^ PhD Studentship: Industrial Meteorology in Britain, 1950-present. In: Website of the International Commission on the History of Meteorology. University of Manchester and the Royal Meteorological Society, January 17, 2018, accessed June 13, 2020 .

[Walker2000-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m Malcolm Walker (Education Officer, Royal Meteorological Society): The Royal Meteorological Society as seen through its membership . In: Royal Meteorological Society (ed.): Weather . tape 55 , no. 4 . RMetS, S. 104 - 108 (English, rmets.org [PDF; 362 kB ; accessed on June 9, 2020]).

[RMetS-AR-2018-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac ^ad ^ae ^af ^ag ^ah ^ai ^aj ^ak ^al ^am The 168th Annual Report of the Royal Meteorological Society for the period 1st January - 31st December 2018. (PDF) In: Website of the Charity Commission for England and Wales. Charity Commission for England and Wales, accessed June 11, 2020 .

[Corless1950-3] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o R. Corless: A brief History of the Royal Meteorological Society . In: Royal Meteorological Society (ed.): Weather . tape 5 , no. 3 . Wiley-Blackwell, March 1950, pp. 78-83 , doi : 10.1002 / j.1477-8696.1950.tb01151.x .

[RMetS-History-4] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k History of the Society. In: Royal Meteorological Society website. Retrieved June 9, 2020 .

[MeteoHist-5] PhD Studentship: Industrial Meteorology in Britain, 1950-present. In: Website of the International Commission on the History of Meteorology. University of Manchester and the Royal Meteorological Society, January 17, 2018, accessed June 13, 2020 .