SSC
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was established in:
Answer (Detailed Solution Below)View answer ▾Hide ▴
Answer: Option D — 1950
Detailed Solution
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was established on 23 March 1950, when the WMO Convention came into force.
About the WMO:
- Its predecessor was the "International Meteorological Organization" (IMO), founded in 1873 after the first International Meteorological Congress held in Vienna.
- The WMO Convention was adopted in Washington, D.C., in 1947, and came into force on 23 March 1950.
- In 1951, the WMO became a specialised agency of the United Nations.
- Its headquarters is in Geneva, Switzerland.
It has 193 members (187 states and 6 territories). India is a founding member.
Its work:
- It promotes international cooperation in meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
- It coordinates the global network of weather observation through the "World Weather Watch" (WWW), started in 1963.
- It promotes the standardisation of meteorological observations and the free exchange of weather data.
- It runs regional specialised meteorological centres for tropical cyclones.
- It publishes the annual "State of the Global Climate" report.
- In 1988, together with UNEP, it established the "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change" (IPCC), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 (shared with Al Gore).
- The "Early Warnings for All" initiative (2022) aims to protect everyone on Earth with early warning systems by 2027.
India and the WMO:
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) represents India at the WMO.
The IMD's Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) in New Delhi provides tropical cyclone advisories for the North Indian Ocean (Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea) and names cyclones in the region, using a list prepared by 13 member countries of the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones.
World Meteorological Day:
- It is observed on 23 March every year, marking the date the WMO Convention came into force.
- Its theme for 2025 was "Closing the Early Warning Gap Together".
Why not the other options?
- ✗1873 is the year the International Meteorological Organization was founded.
- ✗1945 is the year the UN was founded.
- ✗1965 is not linked to the WMO.
Quick tip
Remember: WMO = 23 March 1950 (predecessor IMO 1873; UN agency 1951; HQ Geneva); World Meteorological Day = 23 March; IPCC = 1988 (WMO and UNEP); cyclone naming for North Indian Ocean = IMD's RSMC, New Delhi.
💬 Discussions on this question
Ask a doubt ›Still stuck on this question? Ask our faculty and fellow students — answers appear here.
Ask a doubtMore International Economic Organisations Questions
View all ›- Q1.The World Trade Organization (WTO) was established in:
- Q2.The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are together known as the:
- Q3.The Asian Development Bank (ADB) was established on:
- Q4.In which year was the grouping BRIC (now BRICS) formally founded with its first summit?
- Q5.The headquarters of the UN World Tourism Organization (UN Tourism) is located in:
More General Knowledge Questions
- Q1.The techniques of Rasa and Bhava used in Indian classical dance trace their origin to which ancient text?Indian Dance Forms
- Q2.Lavani, Powada, Koli, Waghya Murali and Dhangari Gaja are folk dances of which state?Indian Dance Forms
- Q3.The one-act play associated with the Sattriya tradition of Assam is called:Indian Dance Forms
- Q4.Which dance form of Goa is known as the 'Warrior Dance'?Indian Dance Forms
- Q5.Manipuri dance is based on the Rasleela themes of:Indian Dance Forms
International Economic Organisations — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of International Economic Organisations, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers international economic and financial organisations: the IMF, the World Bank group, the WTO, the Asian Development Bank, the New Development Bank, the AIIB, OPEC, the OECD and groupings such as the G20, along with their headquarters, founding and functions. Questions usually ask where an organisation is headquartered, when it was set up, and what it does. For example, the IMF and World Bank were created at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944, the WTO replaced GATT in 1995, and the New Development Bank, set up by the BRICS countries, is headquartered in Shanghai. Practise the international economic organisations questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.