The Croatian Meteorological and Hydrological Service ( hr, Državni hidrometeorološki zavod or DHMZ) is a public entity for

meteorology Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

and

air quality Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different types ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...

History

DHMZ was founded 1947 and since then it is located on Grič 3 in Upper Town, old part of

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

. Before Croatia gained independence in 1991, it meteorological and hydrological service has been a part of the meteorological and hydrological service in the former

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label= Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavij ...

. After Croatia gaining independence, DHMZ operates as a state service. Since 1992, Croatia has been a member of the

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Inter ...

, United Nations' agency specialized in weather, climate and water. It is important to say that, although DHMZ was founded in 1947, the oldest Croatian meteorological station operating continuously was Zagreb-Grič, established in 1861 and DHMZ has such invaluable data in its responsibility.

Mission

The DHMZ supports the economic and

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The ...

of Croatia and assists in the protection of lives, goods and the environment by providing information on the following: weather, climate, hydrological and ecological events and climate extremes with the aim of mitigating their consequences in line with WMO recommendations and EU directives. The DHMZ manages the meteorological and hydrological infrastructure, air quality monitoring infrastructure, as well as the national archives of meteorological, hydrological and other relevant data. The DHMZ is a reliable and reputable international partner, particularly in southeastern and central Europe.

DHMZ activities

- Construction of infrastructure and measurement systems, as well as planning and maintenance of all kinds of meteorological and hydrological stations and air quality measurement stations - Development and maintenance of various databases (meteorological, hydrological, air quality) - Provision of information on meteorology, hydrology and air quality to users (the DHMZ issues warnings and produces analyses, forecasts, studies and surveys). This is achieved through the application of scientific methods and the use of powerful computers and sophisticated software in producing

numerical model Computer simulation is the process of mathematical modelling, performed on a computer, which is designed to predict the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be dete ...

s - Applied scientific research and development of methods designed to enhance the quality of information which the DHMZ offers to its users. - Operational implementation of

hailstorm Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...

defense - DHMZ products/services are used in the following areas: public information services, physical planning, Construction, strategic planning, urban planning, architecture, water resource management, electricity resource management, traffic, healthcare, sports, physical recreation, environment and nature protection, agriculture, civil protection, protection of lives

National meteorological and hydrological infrastructure and air quality monitoring infrastructure (as of 31/12/2015)

Meteorological station network:
40 main meteorological stations 104 climatological stations 339 rain fall stations 22 totalisers
Hydrological station network
487 surface water measurement stations 698 groundwater measurement stations

10 background stations 9 urban stations Other: 59 phenological stations 8 radars 2 radiosonde stations 1 sodar

The membership and partnership with international and intergovernmental organizations and programs

WMO
- World Meteorological Organization,
ECMWF
- European Centre for Medium - Range Weather Forecasts
EUMETSAT
- EUMETSAT - European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites

-

EUMETNET EUMETNET (acronym of ''European Meteorological Network'') is a network of 31 European National Meteorological Services based in Brussels, Belgium. It exists to provide a framework to organise co-operative programmes between the members in fields ...

- Network of European Meteorological Services

- ECOMET - Economic Interest Grouping of the National Meteorological Services of the European Economic Area

- GEO - Group on Earth Observations

- IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

- ALADIN - International consortium for high Resolution Numerical Weather Prediction Model
LACE
- RC LACE - Regional Cooperation for Limited Area modeling in Central Europe

- JCOMM - Joint WMO/lOC Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology

- GCOS - Global Climate Observing System

- EMEP - Cooperative Program for the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe

- EFAS - The European Flood Awareness System * ICCED - Informal Conference of Central European Directors of hydrological and Meteorological Services * ICSEED - Informal Conference of South-East European NMHS Directors

- HyMEX - Hydrological cycle in the Mediterranean Experiment

- IRBC - International Sava River Basin Commission

Noted employees

* Milan Sijerković

References

External links

* {{authority control Scientific organizations established in 1947 Government agencies of Croatia Governmental meteorological agencies in Europe 1947 establishments in Croatia Organizations based in Zagreb