MeteoSwiss (german: MeteoSchweiz, french: MétéoSuisse, it, MeteoSvizzera), officially the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology, is an office of the

federal administration of Switzerland The federal administration of Switzerland (german: Bundesverwaltung, french: Administration fédérale, it, Amministrazione federale, rm, Administraziun federala) is the ensemble of agencies that constitute, together with the Swiss Federal ...

. It employs 290 people at locations in Zurich,

Zurich Airport Zürich Airport (), french: Aéroport de Zurich, it, Aeroporto di Zurigo, rm, Eroport da Turitg is the largest international airport of Switzerland and the airline hub, principal hub of Swiss International Air Lines. It serves Zürich, Switze ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

Locarno , neighboring_municipalities= Ascona, Avegno, Cadenazzo, Cugnasco, Gerra (Verzasca), Gambarogno, Gordola, Lavertezzo, Losone, Minusio, Muralto, Orselina, Tegna, Tenero-Contra , twintowns =* Gagra, Georgia * Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic ...

and

Payerne Payerne (; frp, Payèrna) is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Vaud. It was the seat of the district of Payerne, and is now part of the district of Broye-Vully. The German name ''Peterlingen'' for the town is out of use. History The earl ...

History

Originally established as the Central Meteorological Institute (MZA), by 1863 it operated 88 weather stations. Its name was changed in 1979 to ''Swiss Meteorological Institute'' (SMA). Since 1996, it has been operating as MeteoSwiss. Since 2006, its official name is "Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss".

Function

The office observes the weather around the clock, creating weather forecasts and alerting authorities and population, when strong winds, heavy rainfall, storms or heat waves are forecast. In addition, it provides weather services for the civil, military and

private aviation Private aviation is the part of civil aviation that does not include flying for hire, as opposed to commercial aviation. Definition Private aviation and commercial aviation are not rigorously defined. In general, private aviation is regarded a ...

. The office also carries out a program of research and development to understand the weather and climate in the Alps. They also officially represent Switzerland at the

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Internati ...

in Geneva.

Notes and references

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Meteoswiss Governmental meteorological agencies in Europe Federal Department of Home Affairs Federal offices of Switzerland

History

Function

See also

Notes and references

External links