Centennial Observing Stations
Long-term meteorological observations are crucial in serving the needs of current and future generations for long-term high quality climate records. They are unique sources of past information about atmospheric, hydrologic and marine parameters, which serve as references for climate variability and change assessments. To highlight this importance, WMO has a mechanism to recognize centennial observing stations to promote sustainable observational standards and best practices that facilitate the generation of high-quality time series data.
The mechanism involves close collaboration between WMO climate, hydrology and marine, network and instrument experts, representing WMO Technical Commissions, the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), Members and the WMO Secretariat. The May 2017 WMO Executive Council meeting recognized the first set of WMO centennial observing stations. Further calls are planned for nominations.