Meteorology (ancient Greek μετεωρολογία meteōrología "Investigation of supernatural things" or "Investigation of celestial bodies") is the study of the physical and chemical processes in the atmosphere and also includes their most well-known fields of application - weather forecasting and climatology.

Beyond atmospheric physics, climate research and the improvement of weather forecasting methods, meteorology also investigates chemical processes (e.g. ozone formation, greenhouse gases) in the air envelope and observes atmospheric celestial phenomena. It is counted as a geoscientific discipline and at universities (see meteorology studies) it is often affiliated with the Institutes of Geophysics or the respective Faculty of Physics.

Weather observation was already of interest for our ancestors living as nomads. Observation and recording of local weather was - and still is - an important basis for farmers to make fundamental decisions: when to sow, when to harvest.

The earlier one sows, the longer the possible vegetation period until harvest; at the same time, however, earlier sowing can lead to losses due to weather effects on the young seed.
The later one harvests, the greater the yield. Nevertheless, it may be better to bring in the harvest a little earlier, e.g. to protect it from an approaching storm or a period of bad weather.
Weather observation and research can also serve military purposes. For example, an accurate forecast of wind direction and strength was useful or even crucial for naval battles.

The discovery of America was the prelude to the "conquest of the oceans". The increasing intercontinental shipping traffic brought many new insights into weather phenomena. On the ships the weather was observed in detail and recorded in the logbook.

Albertus Magnus provided early theoretical approaches: In his treatise De natura locorum he described the dependence of the characteristics of a place on its geographical location. Such approaches continued to have an effect, for example in a short presentation of theoretical climatology by the Viennese astronomer Georg Tannstetter (1514).

A first revolution in meteorology began between 1880 and 1900, when the meteorological services of individual states were able to exchange their weather data by means of wired and wireless telegraphy, thus enabling real-time data comparison. This enabled synoptic weather maps to appear for the first time.

Learn basics about Meteorology