American Meteorological Society (AMS)
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a professional organization comprising nearly 12,000 members, including scientists, students, and weather enthusiasts, dedicated to the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, AMS plays a crucial role in advancing knowledge in these fields through various activities, such as publishing multiple scientific journals and hosting an annual conference. The society operates through six major divisions, focusing on areas like professional affairs, education, and scientific innovation, all under the guidance of an elected council that pursues strategic goals.
AMS is also committed to public education and promoting science-based decision-making, offering resources such as certifications, scholarships, and awards for outstanding contributions in meteorology. A significant aspect of AMS’s work includes its stance on climate change, articulated in a comprehensive policy review that highlights the impact of human activities on global warming and the need for adaptive strategies to confront ongoing climate challenges. Overall, AMS serves as a vital hub for collaboration and professional development in meteorological sciences, advocating for informed responses to environmental changes.
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American Meteorological Society (AMS)
Mission
The almost twelve thousand members of the American Meteorological Society (AMS) are scientists, students, and lay enthusiasts involved in the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. The AMS supports them by producing and sharing information on these fields and through educational programs. Its elective council ensures that the society’s strategic goals are pursued through the activities of its six major divisions: the Commission of the Weather and Climate Enterprise, the Commission on Professional Affairs, the Education and Human Resources Commission, the Publications Commission, the Scientific and Technological Commission, and the Planning Commission.
The AMS publishes multiple journals, hosts an annual conference, and provides a website for news, policy statements, and professional development. It offers certifications for broadcast and consulting meteorologists, a career center, scholarships and grants for students, and awards for service and research in the pursuit of seven goals: advancing knowledge through publications and meetings, accelerating development of the application of the knowledge, promoting science-based decision-making, educating the public, attracting new talent into its ranks, developing cooperation, and supporting national and international programs of benefit to society.
Significance for Climate Change
The extensive policy review on climate change, “An Information Statement of the American Meteorological Society,” adopted in 2007, and revised in 2012 and 2019, concludes that Earth is undergoing global warming, to which human activity is a significant contributing factor. This warming, the statement continues, will continue beyond the next century and will affect animal life and ecosystems, as well as human civilization. The statement emphasizes that government policy must adopt the twin goals of reducing climate change and confronting the reality that some climate change will continue no matter what humans do, so plans will need to be made to enable society to adapt to that change: “Prudence dictates extreme care in managing our relationship with the only planet known to be capable of sustaining human life.”
"AMS and Climate Change." AMS, 2019, www.ametsoc.org/index.cfm/ams/about-ams/ams-and-climate-change/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.
"Key Takeaways from the 'State of the Climate in 2023.'" AMS, 22 Aug. 2024, blog.ametsoc.org/2024/08/22/key-takeaways-from-the-state-of-the-climate-in-2023/. Accessed 16 Dec. 2024.