The Meteorological Observatory of the A.M. Mountain Centre (CAMM) at Monte Cimone has been officially opened following the recently completed renovation and technological upgrade works. The event, attended by the Deputy Commander of the Air Force, Air Force General Carlo Magrassi, coincided with the Centre’s 75th anniversary: at dawn on 1 September 1937, Airman Notarianni transmitted the first weather report from the summit of Monte Cimone. Today, thanks in part to its collaboration with the National Research Council, the CAMM is one of the world’s most important meteorological observatories and, alongside just 26 other stations scattered across the globe, is recognised as a “global station” by the World Meteorological Organisation, due to the nature and quality of the environmental measurements it carries out, which are fundamental for monitoring the health of the Earth’s atmosphere. The inauguration covered the new laboratories for measuring methane concentrations and solar radiation in the atmosphere, two multimedia rooms, an 18-metre mast on which the antennas for the ground-to-air-to-ground systems used for air traffic control are installed, and, finally, the complete refurbishment of the Observatory’s external structure. Also speaking at the event were the Director of CAMM, Major Attilio Di Diodato, and the Head of the Meteorology Department at USAM, Colonel Luigi De Leonibus. The Centre’s Director outlined the milestones and progress of the CAMM over its 75-year history, made possible thanks to the support received from other departments of the Armed Forces, such as the CNMCA in Pratica di Mare, the Airspace and Meteorology Office of the Air Force General Staff, the 1st Air Force Engineering Unit, the 1st Technical Communications Unit, the 15th Wing in Cervia and the 14th Central Depot in Modena. Colonel De Leonibus, in turn, reiterated the importance of historical data series, such as, for example, the carbon dioxide measurements at Cimone, which enable climate studies to be carried out that are essential at both a scientific and operational level. General Magrassi concluded the speeches by emphasising that the Cimone Observatory is an asset that must be safeguarded for the benefit of all, even amidst the difficulties of the current economic climate.At the end of the ceremony, General Magrassi unveiled a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion, and the new Observatory was blessed by the Archbishop of Modena, His Most Reverend Excellency Antonio Lanfranchi. The A.M. Mountain Centre is a body of the A.M. Meteorological Service, reporting to the National Centre for Aeronautical Meteorology and Climatology (CNMCA) in Pratica di Mare (Rome). Its operational activities are carried out mainly at an altitude of 2,165 metres, within the Frignano Park, from where a 360° panorama can be observed, covering almost half of the national territory (120,000 square kilometres). Since 1937, its work has centred on flight support, telecommunications, and meteorological and environmental measurements; since 1975, it has been measuring stratospheric ozone; since 1979, carbon dioxide; and since 2012, methane in the atmosphere.
