The Weather Watchers: 100 Years of the Bureau of Meteorology by David Day

Book Description

Secondhand. Very good condition. Minor wear at tail spine and at book corners. Otherwise in fine condition.

Australia's capricious climate has tested its inhabitants for centuries.

For a colony of farmers, knowing what the weather might bring was a matter of great moment. But the small band of colonial meteorologists were hampered until telegrapher observations suddenly gave them the means to make rough predictions about the coming weather.

The founding of the Bureau of Meteorology in 1907 brought new rigour to the work of meteorologists. Yet it remained a Cinderella organisation until the advent of regular air services in the 1930s doubled its size and boosted the scope of its operations. The Bureau more than doubled again when it became a vital part of the nation's defence effort in the Second World War.

Despite the important roles it played, the limits of the science, rudimentary technology and budgetary restrictions combined to make the Bureau a regular object of derision. That gradually changed as the introduction of the radar, satellites and computers, and the growing understanding of meteorological science, allowed the Bureau to make confident weather predictions several days in advance and even of the climate for coming seasons. (book flap)