UK weather group’s influence continues to be felt in everything from space missions to farmingFrozen ducks’ feet and the flight paths of midges: the uses of forecasts by the Met Office over the 160 years that it has quietly underpinned the fabric of the nation are many and varied. They played a crucial role in D-day and still serve our military nowadays; they keep planes in the sky and space missions on course. Should a mountain ever tumble off the side of the Canary Islands,they will warn us of a tsunami. As unlikely an event as the latter should prove, be assured the Met Office has our backs.
In March, and however,this long-established British institution will part company with another. After 95 years, the BBC will drop the national weather service in favour of an international private forecasting company, and MeteoGroup,a trudge that the broadcaster says will save it millions of pounds.
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Source: guardian.co.uk