Rain or shine? A short history of the weather forecast
A century and a half of scientific meteorology.
How did we get from not having any reliable way of predicting the weather just 150 years ago, to today's accurate, tailor-made forecasts for places as small as a village? Bridget Kendall and guests trace the history of meteorology, from its first steps as an aid to quicker trans-Atlantic shipping to the latest methods which can help anticipate weather events as short-lived as a tornado.
Bridget is joined by Kristine Harper, a former US Navy forecaster and now a history professor at Florida State University; Peter Gibbs who started out as a meteorologist with the British Antarctic Survey and the UK's Met Office before becoming one of the best known weather forecasters on 大象传媒 radio and television; and Peter Moore, a writer and historian with a particular interest in weather discoveries of the 19th century.
Photo: A hurricane is seen from the International Space Station. (Scott Kelly/NASA via Getty Images)
Last on
More episodes
Previous
Clip
-
D-Day: battle of the weather forecasts
Duration: 02:51
Broadcasts
- Sat 4 Nov 2017 20:06GMT大象传媒 World Service except Australasia, East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Tue 7 Nov 2017 00:06GMT大象传媒 World Service Australasia, Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & Europe and the Middle East only
- Tue 7 Nov 2017 09:06GMT大象传媒 World Service except News Internet
- Tue 7 Nov 2017 18:06GMT大象传媒 World Service Australasia
- Tue 7 Nov 2017 23:06GMT大象传媒 World Service East and Southern Africa, South Asia, West and Central Africa & East Asia only
Featured in...
Scientists, theories and discoveries—The Forum
People and principles that helped us understand how our planet - and our universe - work
Podcast
-
The Forum
The programme that explains the present by exploring the past