MOSCOW, February 14. /TASS/. Russia is making a significant contribution to the development of meteorology in the world and training of specialists in this field, Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in an exclusive interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman.
Taalas drew attention to the fact that for the constructive work of WMO on climate analysis of the planet as well as for accurate weather forecasts observation data from all countries are necessary. In this sense, Russia, as the largest country in the world, remains an important supplier of such data. "National observing systems are very important, and we have been lucky to be a non-political organization," he continued. Even during the days of Cold War, when the Soviet Union and the USA were clashing in other fronts, they were freely exchanging data."
The Secretary General noted that the Russian side has long had its own weather satellites, which are "important for monitoring of weather". "[The] Arctic is very interesting, because we had seen the biggest change in climate taking place there, and Russia also owns lots of territories globally in the Arctic and that’s, of course, a laboratory of climate change as well," he explained. And then, you [Russia] have been responsible for [the] training of experts to other countries. During the Soviet era, you were very much training developing country experts, and nowadays you have continued the same practice."
In this regard, Taalas mentioned St. Petersburg University, and also pointed out that "previously there was also a university in Odessa." "We have plenty of specialists of the older generation of meteorologists who have gotten their basic training in those two universities," he added. Nowadays the living costs in Saint-Petersburg are too high and that’s an obstacle for some of the students to come there, but you are still playing such an important role. And also in the former Soviet states, especially in Central Asia, many of the experts are still getting training in Russian universities.".