The Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (, SMHI) is a Swedish
government agency
A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...
and operates under the
Ministry of Climate and Enterprise. SMHI has expertise within the areas of
meteorology
Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agricultur ...
,
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 drainage basin sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is called a hydro ...
and
oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology.
It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of to ...
, and has extensive service and business operations within these areas.
History
On 1 January 1873, Statens Meteorologiska Centralanstalt was founded, an autonomous part of the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences () is one of the Swedish Royal Academies, royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for promoting nat ...
, but the first meteorological observations began on 1 July 1874. It was not until 1880 that the first forecasts were issued. The latter will be broadcast on Stockholm radio from 19 February 1924.
[.]
In 1908, the Hydrographic Office (''Hydrografiska byrån'', HB) was created. Its task is to scientifically map Sweden's freshwater and collaborate with the weather service in taking certain weather observations such as precipitation and snow cover. In 1919, the two services merged and became the ''Statens meteorologisk-hydrografiska anstalt'' (SMHA).
[
In 1945, the service was renamed ''Sveriges meteorologiska och hydrologiska institut''. Prior to 1975 it was located in ]Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
but after a decision taken in the Riksdag
The Riksdag ( , ; also or , ) is the parliament and the parliamentary sovereignty, supreme decision-making body of the Kingdom of Sweden. Since 1971, the Riksdag has been a unicameral parliament with 349 members (), elected proportional rep ...
in 1971 it was relocated to Norrköping in 1975.[
]
Staff and organisation
SMHI has offices in Gothenburg
Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...
, Malmö
Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...
, Sundsvall
Sundsvall () is a city and the seat of Sundsvall Municipality in Västernorrland County, Sweden. It has a population of 58,807 as of 2020; more than 95,000 live in the municipal area. It is Sweden's 21st largest city by population. Old town i ...
and Upplands Väsby, as well as its headquarters. To the Swedish public SMHI is mostly known for the weather forecasts in the public-service radio provided by Sveriges Radio
Sveriges Radio Aktiebolag, AB (; "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio programming, radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a television ...
. Many of the other major media companies in Sweden also buy weather forecasts from SMHI.
SMHI has about 650 employees. The research staff includes some 100 scientists at the Research Unit, which includes the Rossby Centre. The research division is divided into six units:
* Meteorological prediction and analysis
* Air quality
* Oceanography
* Hydrology
* Rossby Centre (Regional and Global Climate Modelling)
* Atmospheric Remote Sensing
The regional and global climate modelling is at the Rossby Centre, which was established at SMHI in 1997.
Environmental research spans all six research units. There is also a project for providing contributions to the HIRLAM (High Resolution Limited Area Model) project.
The main goal of the research division is to support the Institute and the society with research and development. The scientists participate in many national and international research projects.
Air quality research
The air quality research unit of SMHI has 10 scientists, all of whom have expertise in air quality, atmospheric pollution transport, and atmospheric pollution dispersion modelling.
Some of the atmospheric pollution dispersion models developed by the air quality research unit are:
* the DISPERSION21 model (also called DISPERSION 2.1)
* the MATCH model
Allegations of harassment and corruption
An anonymous letter sent to the Swedish ministry of environment in 2019 and written by 100 SMHI employees, claims
that harassment and threats from the management happen frequently within the institution. A claim that SMHI's former general director did not wish to address thoroughly.
In 2020, it was revealed that the sea routing department was sold to its recently resigned former director for a very low price, without any public offer. The matter was reported at the Swedish parliament.
Question to the Swedish ministry of environment, in Swedish
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References
External links
SMHI website
The Model Documententation System (MDS)
of the European Topic Centre on Air and Climate Change (part of the European Environment Agency
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides independent information on the environment.
Definition
The European Environment Agency (EEA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) which provides ...
)
Airviro web page
{{Authority control
Government agencies of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
Atmospheric dispersion modeling
1945 establishments in Sweden
Government agencies established in 1945
National meteorological and hydrological services
Oceanographic organizations
Hydrology organizations
1940s establishments in Stockholm
Organizations based in Östergötland County