ReData

ReData

ReData is one of the most recent Italian projects related to the recovery of historical meteorological data. Its goal is to recover and digitize meteorological data archived between 1879 and 1940 at the Royal Meteorological Office.
The Royal Central Meteorological Office was established in Italy in 1876, and one of its most important tasks was the compilation of the Daily Meteorological Bulletin, which started in 1879. From its very first issue, the bulletin reported data on various meteorological variables recorded at 8:00 AM from dozens of Italian observatories, along with weather maps showing the distribution of isobars and isotherms across Italy.

Example of a Daily Meteorological Bulletin: 22nd of March, 1889

The bulletin was then enriched in the following years both considering more stations (over one hundred) and reporting also the observations of the previous evening.

ReData project is included into the international Data Rescue Portal, that is originated from initiative of both the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S).

Why is this work really important?

The digitization of historical meteorological data is crucial for several reasons, each contributing to the advancement of climate science, weather prediction, and our understanding of environmental changes. For this reason, in recent years, this activity of digitization has being pursued by many countries.

Understanding global climate change requires a comprehensive view of weather patterns across the world, and this is only possible when countries contribute their historical data to the global dataset. By digitizing their records, countries enhance global climate models, enabling better predictions and more effective responses to climate change.

Disaster management and risk mitigation are also significant drivers of this work. Countries face unique climate-related risks, such as hurricanes, droughts, and floods, which have profound impacts on their economies and populations. Digitized historical data allow governments to analyze past events, improving early warning systems and disaster response strategies. This, in turn, supports the building of more resilient infrastructures and communities.

Then, from an economic and agricultural perspective, historical weather data is invaluable for planning and decision-making.

Finally, scientific research benefits greatly from digitized data, as it supports the advancement of climate science and innovation. This data is not only essential for current research but also serves as a valuable educational resource, helping to train future generations of scientists and meteorologists. Additionally, preserving historical meteorological records through digitization safeguards them as part of a country's cultural and scientific heritage, ensuring they are not lost over time.

Where we are today

The first step in that direction has already been taken. Thanks to the collaborations between MeteoNetwork and the Department of Environmental Science and Policy of the Università degli Studi di Milano we now have almost all the scans of the Italian daily Meteorological Bulletin.

Now it's your turn to help us saving this heritage!