Weather forecasting
Origin: In 1831, a naval officer named Robert FitzRoy came up with the idea of predicting the weather. Deeply troubled with loss of life due to unpredictable, extreme weather, he was determined to set up an office in London where he used some basic equipment such as the barometer, nautical charts and recorded patterns to predict the weather. As the telegraph network expanded in the 1830s, FitzRoy could gather idea from different coasts at his London office.
If he thought a storm was approaching, he immediately released a warning telegraph to the concerned port where a drum was raised to alarm the sailors. The first ever daily weather forecast was published in The Times newspaper on August 1, 1861.
Method of forecasting weather: Meteorology is the study of weather and the atmosphere. A Meteorologist is a person who studies weather patterns and predicts Earth’s atmospheric phenomena. Meteorologists gather information about the weather from satellites, balloons and other instruments. They use powerful computers to analyse the collected data and then draw weather maps to forecast the weather.
Importance: Weather forecasting forewarns people about future weather conditions. It also warns people about other weather hazards such as thunderstorms, hurricanes and heavy rainfall. Thus far, accurate weather predictions have been able to save the lives of many.
How precise are they: After technological advancements, the weather forecast stations today are well equipped to provide advanced warnings of severe weather, but they aren't always accurate. Accurate weather forecasting requires a lot of observational data collected from thousands of weather stations across the globe. Also it is tough to predict the weather, which constantly changes at a quick pace.
