From the earliest weather maps to modern meteorology
The weather forecast helps us all to plan our day-to-day activities, it helps companies to do businesses, and it helps governments to protect civilians. The earliest weather forecasts took place in Germany.
There appears to be something quintessentially human about wanting to know what will happen in future. Where once upon a time people consulted oracles, nowadays we are helped by statistics and scientific measurements. And even though cutting-edge technology isn’t always perfect, the weather forecast is often right. But how do we get forecasts from? When was the first weather forecast? And how do forecasts help us?
The origins of weather forecasting
For a long time, the idea of having a generally reliable forecast from a weather app would have been unimaginable. It is true that people observed and documented the weather in ancient times in order to make predictions based on experience, but modern meteorology didn’t emerge until the 1820s. It was then that Heinrich Wilhelm Brandes (who would later become a professor at Breslau University) published his dissertation on a first systematic attempt to map, which he had submitted while a student at the University of Leipzig. Brandes improved ways of monitoring trends and connections between weather events by compiling data such as air pressure, temperature and wind direction sent to him by post from various locations.
Modern meteorology
Nowadays, over 200 weather stations across Germany collect ground level data such as wind speed and temperature. Twice a day, weather balloons fitted with measuring equipment ascend into the sky. On a side note, many passenger aircraft also collect weather data on their journeys. Buoys at sea also play their part, but the most important job falls to weather satellites, which monitor conditions from space. From its headquarters in Offenbach, the German Weather Service uses powerful computers to process data from around the world. Crunched through statistical and stochastic processes and converted into an easy-to-read graphic depicted on a map, this is how we get a modern weather forecast.
Why are weather forecasts so important?
Weather forecasts don’t just help us decide what clothes to wear tomorrow. They allow people to plan their day-to-day activities, such as postponing a long car journey in the event of icy conditions or getting the shopping done before an approaching storm hits. Weather forecasts are also vitally important to some sectors of the economy. Farmers rely on predictions when it comes to cultivating their fields. However, the most important role of the German Weather Service is disaster protection, with its early warning systems for floods, heavy rain and extreme heat. For that reason, weather forecasts are required under German law. The German Weather Service Act follows Article 74 of Germany’s Basic Law and establishes a duty on the government to provide weather forecasts.
