The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology was established in 1967 by the

member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign s ...

, all current and ex-British colonies, of the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation (CMO). It was amalgamated with the Caribbean Operational Hydrological Institute (COHI) in the mid-1980s to form the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH), but the name was only officially changed in September 1999 to reflect the dual role of the institute. Responsibility for the operation of the institute, which is located in

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...

, rests with the sixteen

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

governments which comprise the CMO.

History

In 1951 the British Caribbean Meteorological Service was established to promote and co-ordinate regional activities in the fields of

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

and allied sciences, to provide support and advice to governments in dealing with issues of an international nature affecting weather and climate and to represent the regional meteorological community's interests at the international level. With the dissolution of the

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that ...

in 1962, the Caribbean Meteorological Service (CMS) was formed in 1963. In 1973, the CMS became the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation (CMO) following the independence of several member states.

Memberships

The CIMH is formed by 16 current and former British colonies in the Caribbeans:

Function

The CIMH, originally the Caribbean Meteorological Institute, provides training for the region's weather observers and technicians, weather forecasters, specialists in

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

agrometeorology Agrometeorology is the study of weather and use of weather and climate information to enhance or expand agricultural crops or to increase crop production. Agrometeorology mainly involves the interaction of meteorological and hydrological factors, ...

and other related disciplines. The CIMH provides training to the

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree in

Meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

in cooperation with the

University of the West Indies at Cave Hill University of the West Indies at Cave Hill is a public research university in Cave Hill, Barbados. It is one of five general campuses in the University of the West Indies system. It was the third campus to be established by the UWI System, follow ...

. The CIMH also serves as the CMO's research and climate centre, as well as the regional instrument calibration and maintenance centre. CIMH issues also the

Caribbean Precipitation Outlook The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, a three-month seasonal forecast for the region.

External links

Official website
{{Authority control

Governmental meteorological agencies in North America Scientific organisations based in Barbados