A brief history of the development of aviation meteorology

Early aviation meteorology focused on the effects of surface winds and airflow in the lower troposphere on flight. The route weather forecast at that time only included: thunderstorms, total cloud cover, surface winds, upper-altitude winds and visibility. In the late 1920s, radiosondes appeared, and people began to obtain air temperature and pressure data, which played an important role in promoting the research and development of aviation meteorology. With the expansion of flight altitude, clouds, fog, thunderstorms, ice accumulation, atmospheric end currents, atmospheric visibility and their forecasting methods have become the contents of aviation meteorology research.

After World War II, radar began to be used to detect strong convective weather, which played a significant role in ensuring flight safety. After the 1950s, jet aircraft appeared, whose cruising altitude can generally reach 9 to 12 kilometers, and the cruising altitude of supersonic transport aircraft can reach about 20 kilometers. The aircraft gradually became larger, and the detection and forecasting of meteorological conditions in the take-off and landing areas and high-altitude routes were become an important aviation meteorological issue. With the improvement of meteorological instruments and the use of laser technology, meteorological satellites and electronic computers, the development of aviation meteorology has entered a new stage. Aviation meteorological services began in the 1920s. In September 1919, the International Meteorological Organization decided to establish the Committee on Applications of Aeronautical Meteorology at the Fourth Council meeting in Paris. In 1935, the Seventh Council meeting in Warsaw decided to rename it the International Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology. In March 1951, the World Meteorological Organization renamed the International Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology to the Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology. With the improvement of aircraft performance, the increase in air traffic volume and the development of microelectronics technology, the content, methods and methods of aviation meteorological services have entered the current automated service stage from early manual operations.

In 1939, the Aeronautical Commission of the Republic of China established the Air Force Meteorological Observatory. In 1947, the Civil Aviation Administration was established, with a meteorological department and a few airport meteorological observatories. It was not until the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949 that a relatively complete aviation meteorological organization was established, gradually forming aviation meteorological stations equipped with advanced equipment such as weather radar, satellite cloud image receiving devices, laser cloud meters, frequency shift communications, and weather fax machines. Network, aviation weather forecast and aviation meteorological services began to have greater development.