In 1896, a team of researchers from the International Meteorological Organization – an institution that would give rise to the current World Meteorological Organization (WMO) – published the first edition of the International Cloud Atlas . It was a collection of representations of cloud formations accompanied by texts in English, French and German. The idea was that it would serve as a study tool for meteorologists and, incidentally, allow to unify the terminology on this subject. Thus, the weather predictions were expected to be more accurate.
Throughout the 20th century, this work has been reissued and updated on various occasions. The last time was in 1987, long before the use of the internet was widespread. For this reason, the new Atlas, which WMO has just presented, has aroused great interest among experts and amateurs. On the one hand, it is an online product, which makes it easier to access and update content. But it is also that it includes many new features.
The Atlas aims to have a special impact on meteorological conditions, the climate system and the water cycle and contains hundreds of images and new categories of clouds . Among them are, for example, the coiled or volutus, which are formed at a low height and have a spectacular tubular shape, the asperitas – distinctive wavy structures – or the cataractagenitus, which arise where there are cataracts. Others generated by human activities are also shown, such as contrails left by airplanes, called contrails.
According to Petteri Taalas, WMO Secretary General, the 2017 Atlas, which also incorporates information on rainbows, halos, snow swirls or hail, among other phenomena, ” is the only authoritative and exhaustive reference for the identification of “The clouds . Its reputation among hobbyists is legendary and it is an essential training tool for professionals working in meteorological services and in sectors such as aviation and shipping.” For Taalas, “the role that clouds play in the energy balance, climate and meteorological conditions of the Earth is fundamental, so if we want to predict the weather, model the climate system or predict the availability of water resources we must understand them “.
Image: Daniela Mirner Eberl via Wikimedia / GNU
