The World Meteorological Day is being observed in Bangladesh today (Saturday) like other countries in the world commemorating the emergence of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a specialised agency of the United Nations.
“Every year, on 23 March, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and its 193 member states and territories, including Bangladesh, observe this day commemorating the emergence of WMO as a specialised agency of the United Nations,” said an ISPR press release.
President Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today issued separate messages on the occasion of the World Meteorological Day.
This year, the day is being observed with particular emphasis on the theme ‘the Sun, the Earth and the Weather’, selected by the WMO, the release added.
Different programmes have been planned to observe the day at Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) headquarters in the city and at the divisional offices along with its significant branch offices across the country.
An exhibition of meteorological instruments and a documentary screening on related issues are scheduled be held at the headquarters, significant road islands will be decorated and a rally will be brought out.
A technical session is scheduled to be conducted by the Officers’ Association of BMD. Special supplements have been published in some well-known daily newspapers. Bangladesh Betar and Bangladesh Television are airing special programmes considering the significance of the day, says a BSS report.
Moreover, the operational units and radar stations of Dhaka, Cox’s Bazar, Khepupara, Rangpur and Moulvibazar remain open for the public. The interaction between the sun and the earth plays a vital role in maintaining the earth’s energy balance, and at the same time it helps drive entire water cycle and climate system.
Against this backdrop, ‘The Sun, the Earth and the Weather’, the theme of the ‘World Meteorological Day’ will thus help people to gain more knowledge about the combined impacts of the sun and the earth on global weather and climate.
Bangladesh is a member state of the WMO. Therefore, the exchange of inter-state weather forecast and the location and time specific pertinent information regarding weather and climate, and the interaction of sun and the earth play an important role in the socio-economic development.