io8 



NATURE 



[September 26, 191: 



lime meteorolog'y and storm warnings on the 

 other. The Commissions were first provisionally 

 appointed at the meeting of the International 

 Committee lield in Paris in 1907; they held meet- 

 ings in London in June, 1909, and upon their 

 report to the meeting of the International Com- 

 mittee held at Berlin in 1910, it was decided to 

 recommend to the meteorological institutes of 

 liurope to substitute a reading of the "barometric 

 tendency " (the change of pressure in the three 

 hours preceding the morning observation) for 

 the reading of the wet-bulb thermometer in the 

 international code. A scheme of storm signals 

 for daylight, using two cones, was also recom- 

 mended as an international system. 



In the telegraphic reports of the morning of 

 May I, 191 1, the change of code recommended 

 was introduced simultaneously by all the countries 

 of Europe, and the "barometric tendency" has 

 now become an important feature of the daily 

 weather message. The recommendation as to 

 storm warnings was hampered by the fact that 

 no agreement could be reached as to the signals 

 that were to take the place of the cones at 

 night. 



Having regard to the various incidental ques- 

 tions which remained unsettled, the International 

 Committee at Berlin decided that the two Com- 

 inissions, which had consisted of only few persons, 

 should be enlarged and become permanent. All 

 the members of the International Committee had 

 therefore been invited to join these Commissions, 

 and also to nominate other persons interested in 

 weather telegraphy and maritime meteorology 

 respectively. 



In accordance with the tradition of the Inter- 

 national Meteorological Organisation, the ad- 

 ministrative work of a commission rests entirely 

 with its president ; both the Commissions men- 

 tioned are under the presidency of the Director 

 of the Meteorological Office, London, who is also 

 president of the International Meteorological Com- 

 mittee, by which they were appointed. Meetings 

 of the Commissioners were accordingly arranged 

 to l)e held in London on Tuesdav, Wednesdav, 

 Thursda}-, and Friday of tiie third week in 

 September. 



The Board of Education kindly lent the com- 

 mittee-room of the Science Museum for the 

 meetings. The members present were : — For the 

 Commission for weather telegraphy, General 

 Rykatcheff, Director of the Meteorological Ser- 

 vice of Russia ; Geheimrat Hellmann, Director 

 of the Prussian Meteorological Service, secretary 

 of the International Committee ; Prof. Grossmann, 

 representing the Deutsche Seewarte ; Prof. 

 Palazzo, Director of the Meteorological and Geo- 

 dynamic Institute of Rome ; M. .'\ngot, Director 

 of the Central Meteorological Bureau of France ; 

 Prof. Mohn, Director of the Meteorological Ser- 

 vice of Norway ; Prof. Van Everdingen, Director 

 of the Meteorological Service of the Netherlands ; 

 Captain Ryder, Director of the Meteorological 

 Service of Denmark; Mr. R. G. K. Lempfert, 

 Superintendent of the forecast division of the 

 Meteorological Office. For the Commission for 

 NO. 2239, VOL. 90] 



Maritime Meteorology and Storm \\'arning"s there 

 were, in addition, Comandatore Santi, Director 

 of the Hydrographic Bureau of the Royal Italian 

 .Marine at Genoa ; Dr. van der Stok, Superin- 

 tendent of Marine Meteorology at de Bilt ; and 

 Commander Hepworth, Superintendent of the 

 Marine Division of the Meteorological Office. His 

 Highness the Raj Rana of Jhalawar, and Senor 

 Duarte, chef de service of the Brazilian Meteoro- 

 logical Service, now being reorganised, were 

 invited to attend the meetings of the Commis- 

 sions. 



The representatives of Japan, Dr. Nakamura 

 and Dr. Okada, were prevented from coming by 

 the death of the Emperor. Letters of regret were 

 also received from Prof. Willis Moore, of the 

 United States \Veather Bureau ; Mr. H. A. Hunt, 

 Commonwealth meteorologist of Australia ; Rev. 

 L. Froc, of Zikawei Observatory ; Mr. T. F. 

 Claxton, of Hong Kong Observatory ; and others. 



As regards weather-telegraphy, the questions 

 for discussion grouped themselves into four sub- 

 jects, which may be m.entioned in turn : — 



(i) The first was the revision of the international 

 code, incidental to the substitution last year of the 

 " barometric tendencv " for the reading to the wet 

 bulb. 



-After a long discussion agreement was reached 

 whereby two consecutive figure-places can be 

 obtained in the morning groups by using only two 

 figures for the barometric tendency, and also for 

 the air temperature. It is suggested that for 

 ordinary stations one of these places be assigned 

 to the characteristic of the barometric variation 

 in the past three hours, and the other to the 

 direction of motion of the upper clouds ; but, in 

 order to encourage the preparation of a daily map 

 of the circulation of the upper air over Europe, 

 it is proposed that for those few international 

 stations where observations of the direction and 

 apparent velocity of clouds can be obtained, the 

 two figures shall be assigned to those elements. 

 For a figure-place incidentally available in the 

 ex'ening groups, the "characteristic of the weather 

 in the past twenty-four hours " is suggested. 

 Figure codes for the four new meteoro- 

 logical " elements " here mentioned were drawn 



up- 



(2) Secondly, the question of the extension and 

 proper organisation of the evening telegraphic 

 weather service was brought forward by the 

 Seewarte, and General Rykatcheff brought before 

 the meeting a project of the Russian service for 

 synchronous observations twice a day over the 

 whole of the Russian Empire, covering 150° of 

 longitude, in cooperation with the service of 

 middle and western Europe. 



A schedule of the present hours of observation 

 in all parts of the globe was put forward ; and 

 in order to assist these projects it was agreed to 

 recommend 7 a.m., i p.m., and 6 p.m. (G.M.T. ) 

 as " international hours " for the region between 

 the longitude 30° W. and "^0° E., and 6 a.m., 

 12 noon, and 6 p.m., G.M.T? (8h., 2h., 8h. of St. 

 Petersburg time), as international hours between 

 the longitudes 10° E. and 180° E. 



