The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) is the Thai

governmental agency A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administratio ...

responsible for

weather forecasting Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...

and monitoring. It is an agency of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES). It maintains four meteorological centers: one each for the northern region, the northeastern region, and two in the southern region (eastern shore and western shore).

History

In 1905 the science of meteorology was first introduced to Thailand by the

Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy ( Abrv: RTN, ทร.; th, กองทัพเรือไทย, ) is the naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known a ...

which included meteorology in its navigation course. Seven years later, in 1912, the first meteorological textbook in Thai was published. Thailand’s first meteorological service, known as the Meteorological and Statistics Section, was established in 1923. It was attached to the Water Management Division of the Royal Irrigation Department under the Ministry of Lands and Agriculture. Observation stations were set up in provinces for the collection of meteorological data and for the construction of

weir A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...

for flood control. In August 1936 the Meteorological and Statistics Section was transferred to the Hydrographic Department of the Royal Thai Navy, where it was known as the Meteorological Division. The Meteorological Division was elevated to departmental status on 23 June 1942. In 1962, the department was transferred from the Royal Thai Navy to the Office of the Prime Minister. The Meteorological Department was transferred from prime minister's office to the Ministry of Transport and Communications on 1 October 1972. On 3 October 2002, the Meteorological Department was moved to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) where it remains today (2016).

International affiliations

Thailand joined 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 Intern ...

(WMO) in 1949. It participates in several WMO programmes, most notably World Weather Watch (WWW) and the Tropical Cyclone Programme (TCP).

References

External links

World Meteorological Organization
{{National meteorological organisations Government departments of Thailand Governmental meteorological agencies in Asia Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (Thailand) Scientific organizations based in Thailand