Deutscher Wetterdienst

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The Deutscher Wetterdienst (Translated from German as German Meteorological Service), residing in Offenbach, Germany (near to Frankfurt, Germany), is a scientific agency that monitors weather and meteorological conditions over Germany and offers weather services for the general public as well as specific services for e.g. nautical, aviational or agricultural purposes.

The DWDs main task is to warn against weather related dangers, as well as monitoring and rating changes in the German climate. The DWD is also responsible for running the national clime archive and runs one of the biggest libraries worldwide that is specialized on weather and climate.

Structurally, the Deutsche Wetteramt belongs to the Bundesministerium für Verkehr, Bau und Stadtentwicklung. This establishes a close link to the German government, communes, economy, industry, country and state ministries for purposes of cooperation and consulting. Its work is based on the law about the DWD ("Gesetz über den Deutschen Wetterdienst").

Currently, the DWD consists of roughly 2600 occupants. Besides the DWD central in Offenbach, there are regional centers in Hamburg, Potsdam, Leipzig, Essen, Stuttgart and Munich. Additionally, it runs Germany's densest network of meteorological measurement points with 173 full time meteorological stations (100 of them manned), as well as about 2400 extraordinal weather stations run by volunteering amateurs.

Within its duty of primary meteorological information, the DWD offers a free daily weather report for Germany which can be subscribed to by e-mail on their official home page.

[edit] History

The DWD was found in 1952 by joining the weather services of the western occupation zones. In 1954 the Federal Republic of Germany joined the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). In 1975 the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) was founded for numerical weather prediction up to ten days in advance. In 1990 the DWD integrated the weather services of the German Democratic Republic after reunification.

Since the 1990s, the DWD continuously decreased the number of manned weather stations, which resulted in substantial staff cutbacks. According to the DWD, no reduction in forecast quality is to be expected, since techniques like weather radar or satellites have significantly improved weather data overall.

[edit] Public Services

Since 2005, the DWD publishes regional warnings against heat with the aim to reduce heat related fatalities. This decision was made because of the hot summer in 2003, when estimated 7000 people died from direct or indirect effects of the heat. Additionally it sends out sea weather reports as radio teletypes and faxes. Since 2006, the pollen warnings can be subscribed to for free on the DWD web site.

[edit] External links

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Deutscher Wetterdienst

Official site

Coordinates: 50°06′29″N, 8°44′01″E

v • d • e National Meteorological Organisations

Europe	Danish Meteorological Institute · Deutscher Wetterdienst · Météo-France · Met Office · Met Éireann · Norwegian Meteorological Institute · Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) · Finnish Meteorological Institute · Czech Hydrometeorological Institute · Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute · Royal Meteorological Institute · Turkish State Meteorological Service

Asia	Hong Kong Observatory · India Meteorological Department · Japan Meteorological Agency · Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration · CWB (Taiwan) · China Meteorological Administration · Afghanistan Meteorological Authority · Pakistan Meteorological Department

Americas	Meteorological Service of Canada · National Weather Service · Servicio Meteorológico Nacional

Oceania	Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited · Bureau of Meteorology (Australia) · Fiji Meteorological Service

Africa	South African Weather Service · Mozambique National Institute of Meteorology