Chief Hydrometeorological Officer Dr Garvin Cummings has become the first Guyanese to serve on the Executive Council of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), following his recent election.
A Department of Public Information release issued on Saturday, announced that Cummings was elected during the recently concluded 19th World Meteorological Congress in Geneva, Switzerland.
According to the release, this is the first time since the International Meteorological Organization/World Meteorological Organization (IMO-WMO) was formed some 150 years ago that a Guyanese has been elected to serve on the council. The Executive Council is the highest decision-making body of the WMO, outside of the World Meteorological Congress and 27 directors of National Meteorological and Hydro-logical Services were elected to serve on the Executive Council from its 193 member states and territories.
The Congress, which was held from May 22 to June 2, saw officials from member states and territories assembling to discuss and determine the strategic direction of the organisation for the next four years, the release said.
It added that the 19th Congress was considered a significant milestone in the history of the global hydrometeorological community as it also marked the 150th anniversary since the IMO-WMO was formed.
In another first, Director of the Argentine Meteorological Institute Professor Celeste Saulo became the first woman to be elected as Secretary General of the WMO. She will be tasked with leading the Secretariat of the WMO for the next financial period, 2024-2027, according to the release.
