The specialised UN agency for weather and the climate traces its roots back 150 years to the early days of shipping forecasts.The WMO is dedicated to meteorology, operational hydrology and climatology -- weather, water and the climate. It also covers related geophysical sciences such as oceanography and atmospheric chemistry.The WMO was preceded by the International Meteorological Organization, founded in 1873.
The organisation reformed as the WMO in 1950 and became the UN's meteorological agency the following year. It is down the slope from the UN's Palais des Nations, overlooking Geneva's botanical gardens and the World Trade Organization.The WMO's budget for 2024-2027 is 278 million Swiss francs . China and the United States have been the biggest contributors. The agency had 315 people on the payroll by the end of 2021.