World Meteorological Organization

From September 9 to 27, 1952, the Executive Committee of the World Meteorological Organization met in its third session in Geneva. The lengthy agenda contained a higher proportion of technical matters than in previous sessions. The committee made suggestions for meeting the shortage of experts in the various specialized aspects of meteorology and invited the regional associations to consider possible application of the United Nations expanded program of technical assistance in their areas. Two of the largest items on the agenda were the reports on the first sessions of Regional Association VI (Europe) and the Commission for Maritime Meteorology. Both sessions had brought to light difficulties in interpreting the WMO general regulations, and the committee issued guidance for use until the points could be finally settled by the Congress. It was generally agreed that the Executive Committee should encourage the work of die regional associations and the technical commissions. After discussing the general procedure for dealing with urgent technical enquiries referred to WMO, a resolution directing the secretariat to take a more active part in such questions was adopted. It was decided that a working group should be established to investigate how WMO could contribute to the UNESCO arid zone program, and that the committee should proceed with the preparation of world maps and tables of thunderstorm frequency. In all, about 50 resolutions were adopted at this session of the committee.