Rob Varley
Chief Executive of the Met Office
How did you tackle the biggest challenges facing your organisation in 2014?
Forecasting the UK’s weather 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is a challenge that should not be underestimated – the mix of science, technology, infrastructure, communication and human expertise required to keep the country resilient to severe weather is complex and demanding.
Yet this is at the heart of what we do on behalf of the UK, and I’m proud of our performance in the last 12 months. For example, during last winter’s exceptionally wet winter, Met Office staff participated in dozens of COBR meetings, providing accurate advice on the likely impacts of the weather ahead. This demonstrates the importance of our advice for the UK to help minimise vulnerability to extreme weather.
Furthermore, we have been helping other countries minimise their vulnerability to extreme weather by providing predictions of cyclone tracks to regional met centres worldwide, and helping forecasters in the Philippines to better predict and prepare for natural disasters following the devastating effects of Typhoon Haiyan in 2013.
We’ve also made major steps forward in our climate research, answering questions on future regional impacts of climate change. We’ll be further developing research in this area through 2015 to provide the advice decision-makers need.
What are your department’s top priorities in the last months before the general election?
The Met Office plays a critical role in making the UK as resilient as possible to severe weather and related hazards – this is always our top priority, and will be our focus through the year ahead.
Work is already underway to deliver our new high-performance computing facility, and we’ll ensure that delivers maximum benefits for the UK through more detailed forecasts and cutting edge climate research.
Finally, we also want to make sure that we are supporting government as fully as possible on the broader science and innovation agenda. As a world-leading environmental science organisation we have much to offer, and I will do all I can to help make sure that the UK is the best place in the world to do weather and climate science and services.
What’s your favourite Christmas treat? And what makes you say: ‘Bah, humbug!’?
The best Christmas treat? Snow on Christmas day in Devon, of course! Christmas is a wonderful time of the year, and I intend to enjoy it to the full. So I won’t be saying ‘bah humbug’ – whatever the weather brings.