THE Hydrometeorological Service of Guyana celebrated its 47th anniversary on October 5 and further modernization and institutional strengthening of the Hydrometeorological Service is contemplated.

The Service is today headquartered at 18 Brickdam and includes the Water Resources Section, Climatology Section, Agriculture Meteorology Section, the National Weather Watch Centre at Hyde Park and the National Ozone Action Unit.
In light of the milestone the organisation outlined several plans such as to ensure that Hydromet Service National Weather Watch Centre at Timehri complies with ICAO and WMO Quality Management Standards, this means obtaining ISO 9001 certification within the next two years. This is crucial since the certification of the Cheddi Jagan International Airport at a higher grade airport than it is presently will depend on ISO certification of the National Weather Watch Centre at Timehri; enforce our responsibilities under the Water and Sewerage Act of 2002.
Continue to enforce the Trade Order Regulations as it relates to ozone depleting substances and continue to expand our network of automated hydrometeorological stations.
Hydrometeorological services began with the collection of rainfall data in the late 19th century. This was done under the auspices of Crown Agents. Beginning in the twentieth century other parameters were recorded and these were collected by a number of ministries, sugar estates and private citizens.
Subsequently meteorlogy services were under the supervision of the Ministry of Communication and hydrology services came under the supervision of the Ministry of Works and Hydraulics.
A proposal was made by ECLAC for an expert, Mr. William Peterson, from the WMO to develop a proposal for the integration of the services of meteorology and hydrology. He worked with a committee comprising of representatives from the Ministry of Communication, Ministry of Forest, Lands and Mines, Ministry of Works and Hydraulics, Booker Tate Estates, Demerara Bauxite Ltd and other stake holders.
On the 5th Oct 1965 at the 50th Meeting of Cabinet, approval was given to establish a central Hydrometeorological Service within the Ministry of Works and Hydraulics. It was envisaged that the Department’s general responsibilities were to monitor and evaluate weather and water resources in Guyana. These responsibilities grew in the early 70’s to include aeronautical forecasting and later included agriculture meteorology, hydrological engineering and other aspects related to sustainable economic development of the country.
The Office was housed at Fort Street Kingston from 1965 until 1991 when it was transferred to the Ministry of Agriculture. Mr. Ken Potter was appointed the first Chief Hydrometeorological Officer. Under his direction the Hydromet Service developed rapidly into a well coordinated and dynamic entity with a solid core of professional personnel.  Since the service formation there have been six (6) confirmed Heads of Department (Mr. Ken Potter, Mr. John Bassier, Mr. Chander Persaud, Mr. Sheik Khan and Mr. Dilip Jaigopaul) and quite a number of supporting staff.
Since its establishment on October 5, 1965, the Hydrometeorological Services of Guyana has made significant progress. There is still much more to accomplish in order to strengthen the service and make it serve Guyana’s development in even more meaningful ways. The Government of Guyana is committed to ensure we build a dynamic and effective Hydrometeorological Service.