“Information on weather and climate, and its variability and change, is so embedded in ourdaily life – from daily weather forecasts to seasonal climate predictions–that at times it is easy to forget the amount of observations, research, computing and analysis that lies behind weather and climate information products. Today, the average weather forecast of five days in advance is as skillful as the two-day forecast twenty-five years ago and seasonal climate forecasts have become increasingly skillful. This has been made possible thanks to advances in remote sensing, including satellites, major improvements in science and dramatic increases in computer power.Scientific progress in meteorology and climatology in the last fifty years is indeed one of the most significant one in all scientific disciplines.”