What is Meteorology?

Meteorology is a branch of atmospheric science which is concerned with atmospheric phenomena and their time-dependent behaviour and can be subdivided into six major fields as follows:-

Synoptic Meteorology – is concerned with the description, analysis and forecasting of large scale atmospheric motions.  It is a synoptician who is confronted with the most difficult task of modern science, that is prediction of weather on a day to day scale.

Climatology – is concerned with the long term statistical properties of the atmosphere.  Therefore climatologists are responsible for analysing accumulated weather records to provided a description of the climate.

Physical Meteorology – is concerned with the atmospheric structure and composition.  The physical meteorologist studies the chemical composition of the atmosphere, laws of radiation, its absorption etc.

Dynamic Meteorology – is concerned with the atmospheric motions and their time evolution by applying analytical approaches based on the principles of fluid dynamic.

Agricultural Meteorology – is concerned with the application of meteorological information and data to weather sensitive problems in agriculture.

Applied Meteorology – is concerned with the relationship between weather and other activities such as manufacturing, construction and biological processes

In general there are no rigid walls between career areas of meteorology as the disciplines tend to overlap.

What is the Meteorological Services Department?

The  Meteorological Services Department is a Government Department under the Ministry of Transport and Communications.  The Department’s role is to timeously provide quality, reliable weather information and forecasts to civil aviation     industry, agriculture and other specialised agencies and the general public for sustainable economic development.

Joining the Meteorological Services Department(Meteorological Personnel)

Personnel are recruited through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare at different entry levels depending on qualifications. One can either join the Meteoteorological discipline or the Engineering discipline.

Entrance into Meteorological Field