On 23 March, at the CONI Hall of Honour in Rome, a meeting with secondary school students from Lazio and various representatives from institutions, the scientific community, culture, and sports.
“The future of Time, Climate and Water across generations” is the theme chosen this year by the’World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the United Nations agency for meteorology, climatology, operational hydrology and geophysical sciences, on the occasion of World Meteorological Day which recurs and is celebrated every year on 23 March.
This topic, of significant interest, prompts a deep analysis regarding past achievements, current progress, and future potential, highlighting how the international cooperation has been essential from 1873, the date of establishment of the International Meteorological Organization (predecessor to the current World Meteorological Organization) to the present day. It is precisely the spirit of collaboration and cooperation without borders that must also guide the work of future generations, becoming aware of the ongoing climate crisis.
Recently, the’Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), the principal international body for the assessment of climate change, established by the World Meteorological Organisation and the United Nations to provide governments worldwide with a clear scientific view of the current state of knowledge on climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts, has published the Synthesis Report on climate change, in which the clear link between human-induced emissions and global warming is unequivocally highlighted. In one century, the average global temperature has increased by 1.1°C compared to pre-industrial levels, a situation that has caused increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events to occur.
With the aim of raising awareness Young generations when paying attention to what is happening in the world around us, the’General Office of Military Aviation and Meteorology of the Air Force Staff organised on 23 March, at the Hall of Honour of CONI In Rome, a meeting with students from secondary schools in Lazio, moderated by journalist Chiara Giallonardo, and attended by various representatives from institutions, the scientific world, culture, and sport.
It General Luca Baione Brigade, responsible for Meteorological Service of the Air Force The Permanent Representative of Italy to the World Meteorological Organisation, outlined the duties of national institutions and, in particular, the role of the Air Force in atmospheric monitoring activities within the framework of existing national and global collaborations.
Speeches were then given by personalities from the world of culture, sport and Armed Forces, who analysed the day's themes with different approaches.
It Prof Federico Benuzzi, a theoretical physicist and teacher at the Bassi High School in Bologna, a professional actor and science communicator, explained the reasons why the IPCC declared that climate change is almost exclusively attributable to human activity.
It Colonel Luca Parmitano, Test pilot of the Italian Air Force and ESA astronaut, connected from Houston, analysed some aspects of the problem from a different perspective, sharing his vision/experience from space. Captain Andrea Patassa, test pilot of the Italian Air Force and a member of the ESA astronaut reserve, and the Ten. Chiara Ludovico, a meteorologist and environmental engineer from the Air Force, illustrated the Air Force's commitment to combining institutional commitments with preserving environmental impact. The content creator Tudor Laurini, aka Klaus, shared a personal account of his journey, including an inner one, in discovering the splendour and majesty of the mountains, from which he also made a docufilm.
The sailing champion of Italian Air Force Sports Centre Lieutenant Giancarlo Simeoli and the world champion in artistic swimming, Lucrezia Ruggiero, meanwhile, illustrated how it is possible to achieve high-level objectives through organisation and by working towards one goal at a time, an approach typically used in sport but which is applicable to a problem as large as climate change.
Finally, the Professor Alberto Pirni, Professor of Moral Philosophy at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna of Pisa, he drew the final conclusions, offering food for thought on motivational behaviours towards the younger generations.
Weather, climate and water cycles will be different in the future compared to the past, and meteorological, climate and hydrological services will help us to address the associated challenges and seize opportunities, stresses the World Meteorological Organisation, recalling how everyone's daily actions contribute, over time, to building the sustainability of entire communities.
The Italian Air Force is at the forefront of the fight for Environmental sustainability and against climate change, and occasions like these confirm the role that the Armed Forces have played in this context within the national and international arena.
The event is available at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6WtI0Th_elI
