World climatic data

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) sponsors the publication of Monthly Climatic Data for the World (MCDW). This year, 1987, marked the introduction of volume 40, representing 40 years of global surface and upper air climatological data compiled in the MCDW publication format. Surface data include monthly means and/or departures from normal of temperature, precipitation, atmospheric pressure, and sunshine, while upper air data include monthly means of geopotential height, temperature, dewpoint, and winds. About 1500 surface stations and 500 upper air stations (see cover) now contribute data to the National Climatic Data Center, a unit of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that coordinates publication and production of digital data products with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR, in Boulder, Colo.). Most data are collected via the Global Telecommunications System (GTS), supplemented by occasional mailings for delayed data.