The Caribbean Institute

 For Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH)

The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) is a training and research organization formed by the amalgamation of the Caribbean Meteorological Institute (CMI) and the Caribbean Operational Hydrological Institute (COHI).  The CMI was established in 1967 by Member States of the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation (CMO) while the COHI was established in 1982.  Responsibility for the operation of the Institute rests with the sixteen Commonwealth Governments, which comprise the CMO.

The member countries participating in the CMO are Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The role and mission of CIMH is to improve the meteorological and hydrological services and to assist in promoting awareness of the benefits of these services for the economic well being of the CMO countries.  This is achieved through training, research and investigations, and the provision of specializes services and advice.

The primary functions of the Institute are to:

• Provide facilities for the training of various categories of meteorological and hydrological personnel
• Operate as a centre of research in meteorology and hydrology and associated sciences
• Operate as contractors and consultants on various meteorological and hydrological projects
• Maintain a service for the upkeep, repair, and calibration of meteorological instruments
• Provide advice to participating governments on meteorological and hydrological matters
• Collect, analyze, and publish meteorological and hydrological data.

The Institute was designated as a Regional Meteorological Training Centre by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO0 in 1978.

Students from throughout the Caribbean, and elsewhere, are trained in such branches of meteorology as weather observing, forecasting, radar and satellite meteorology, instrument maintenance, agro meteorology, and climatology, and in operational hydrology.

The Institute is involved in a number of cooperative projects with various training institutions and International Organizations, including the British Met Office College, the Canadian Meteorological Centre, OAS Storm Surge Project, and CPACC.  The goals of these cooperative efforts are to enhance the training and research capability of the Institute and to upgrade the knowledge and skills of its staff with new technologies.

October 23 2002