Timeline of meteorology

Article

The history of meteorology traces the development of ideas and instruments used to understand the atmosphere and predict weather. Early societies recorded seasonal winds, clouds, rainfall, storms, and astronomical signs because weather affected agriculture, travel, warfare, and survival.

Classical scholars attempted to classify atmospheric phenomena, while later advances in physics and instrumentation transformed meteorology into a quantitative science. The thermometer, barometer, hygrometer, anemometer, and systematic observation networks made measurements comparable across places and times.

The telegraph enabled rapid collection of weather observations and the creation of synoptic weather maps. In the twentieth century, upper-air balloons, radar, satellites, numerical models, and electronic computers greatly improved analysis and forecasting.

Modern meteorology combines observations from land, ocean, aircraft, radar, and satellites with equations describing fluid motion and thermodynamics. Forecast skill continues to improve through better data, computing, models, and understanding of atmospheric processes.

Source details and credits

• Source / publisher: Wikipedia
• URL type: WWW
• Credits: Wikipedia
• URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_meteorology