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Australian Bureau of Meteorology
The Australian Bureau of Meteorology (also referred to as the Bureau) began operation in 1908, taking over national responsibility for meteorological services from the Australian states. Since its establishment nearly a century ago, the Bureau has become a leader in meteorological services in the southern hemisphere and one of the more technologically advanced in the world.
The main roles of the Bureau are to observe and understand Australia’s weather and climate and to provide services in three main areas:
- Meteorology – the study of the earth’s atmosphere, especially weather forming processes, weather forecasting and the climate.
- Hydrology – the study of the properties, distribution, use and conservation of water on the earth’s surface, underground and in the atmosphere.
- Oceanography – the study of the world’s oceans.
The functions of the Bureau of Meteorology relating to the weather and forecasting include:
- maintaining a network of surface and space-based observing systems
- observing, collecting, recording, analysing and providing meteorological data and information
- forecasting the weather and the state of the atmosphere
- issuing warnings about gales, storms, floods, bushfires and other weather-related events that could harm life or property
- publishing meteorological reports and bulletins.
The Bureau also carries out a number of other functions such as monitoring the climate on a long-term basis, carrying out research, providing advice about Australia’s weather and climate and cooperating with other meteorological services around the world.
The Bureau of Meteorology collects data every day from hundreds of weather
stations, thousands of volunteer rainfall observers, ocean buoys, weather balloons
in the upper atmosphere, radar and satellites. The data is processed by supercomputers
and analysed by meteorologists who send thousands of weather forecasts and
updates to newspapers, radio and television stations, emergency services and
other users every day. The public can access this information via radio, television,
newspapers, internet, email, fax and telephone. The Bureau itself provides
comprehensive weather and climate information on its own website at www.bom.gov.au 
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