On March 23 each year, the Sultanate, represented by the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA)-Directorate General of Meteorology (DGMET), participates with more than 190 national meteorological facilities in various countries around the globe The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) celebration its World Day. This day is in commemoration of the entry into force of the Convention of 1950. The theme of this year's celebration is “The Sun, The Earth and  The Weather," which highlights the sun's relationship with Earth and weather as the driving force behind weather, climate and life on earth.

The sun lies at the heart of the solar system and is about 150 million kilometres from Earth, the star that gives our planet enough warmth for the life and growth of the living organism. This hot mass of incandescent plasma over 4.5 billion years has been the driving and the dynamic force of weather, climate and life on Earth. The sun provides an alternative source of energy, which can be harnessed in various weather conditions, even the cloudy one. The solar energy is being used around the world and increasingly for power generation or heating and desalination. Understanding how the sun affects weather and climate phenomena is therefore crucial for WMO.

On this occasion, Dr Mohammed bin Nasser Al-Zaabi, The Executive Officer of the PACA said that since the Sultanate accession to the membership of the Meteorological Organization in 1975, It has been one of the powerful countries and is striving for continuous and fruitful cooperation with the WMO and its various regional centres. In terms of information exchange and initiate the development of the forecasting and monitoring systems. It is also one of the first countries in the Middle East to employ numerical predictions in the weather forecasting process.

HE pointed out that during the celebration of the Sultanate on March 23, 2015, the National Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (NMHEWS) was inaugurated. It is one of the most important achievements of the modern renaissance of this vital sector, which brought about a quantum leap in terms of devices, communication systems. In addition to the professional handling with different climatic conditions through the dissemination of information, alerts and warnings, to the public by the coordination with the concerned sectors and the various media through the presence of national trained and excellence cadres.

As for the monitoring and following up of the weather, HE noted that the installation of 4 radars for the weather in Ras Al-Hadd, Fahud, Duqm and Salalah, six radars and ten stations of the Global Positioning System (GPS) were completed. The weather stations also witnessed an increase in their number, which amounted to (75) stations.

In the field of training and qualification, HE confirmed that the PACA is continuing to implement training and qualification programs for its national cadres in the meteorological sector with the belief in the importance of training, capacity building and intensifying efforts in national meteorological facilities following the requirements of international civil aviation. We are thus enabling them to play their active role around the clock, which has been clearly shown through the tributes received by PACA from the international and regional organisations during the exposure of the Sultanate to climatic conditions and various weather fluctuations.

One of the awareness activities carried out by Oman Meteorology is the organization of several student visits in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, Private Schools, Universities and Colleges students, and relevant government agencies in order to define more about the meteorological role and functionality in various fields, in addition to its routine tasks such as the issuance of multiple types of bulletins, broadcasting and disseminating them through various media platforms, besides, the publication of special aviation, public and private institutions repotrs. The Sultanate also ensured that the participation of its meteorological sector is fruitful in the various meetings of the WMO, which culminated in its chairmanship of some of the committees of the WMO.

In conclusion, His Excellency, the Executive Officer of the PACA appreciated the excellent care of the Government in the Sultanate of Oman, led by His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, to meteorology sector due to its prominent role in reducing the risks associated with weather and climate. He also thanked the WMO for its efforts to develop and grow the global meteorological system and all the staff of the Directorate General of Meteorology and the Meteorological Office of Dhofar in all their specialities.

It is worth noting that the history of weather monitoring in the Sultanate dates back to 1900 when the private institutions adopted it. The first meteorological station was established in Muscat in 1893, and three other stations were established in 1942 in Salalah, Masirah and Thamrait. In the 1960s, PDO created many stations in some coastal areas and inland areas of the Sultanate. However, the real beginning of modern meteorology in the Sultanate is in the glorious era of His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said, with the inauguration of the International Airport of Seeb in 1973, currently Muscat International Airport.

It is also recalled that WMO was established in 1873 to promote international meteorological cooperation for the protection of life and property. In 1972, WMO began expanding its core meteorological and climate concerns to increasingly include hydrological topics as well as a number of those relating to Environment.