The Egyptians had rain-making rituals as early as 3500 BC. Early approaches to predicting weather were based on astrology and were practiced by priests. The ability to predict rains and floods based on annual cycles was evidently used by humans at least from the time of agricultural settlement if not earlier.

Ancient religions believed meteorological phenomena to be under the control of the gods. Admiral FitzRoy tried to separate scientific approaches from prophetic ones. The word meteorology is from the Ancient Greek μετέωρος metéōros ( meteor) and -λογία -logia ( -(o)logy), meaning 'the study of things high in the air.'Įarly attempts at predicting weather were often related to prophecy and divining, and were sometimes based on astrological ideas. Meteorology has application in many diverse fields such as the military, energy production, transport, agriculture, and construction. The interactions between Earth's atmosphere and its oceans are part of a coupled ocean-atmosphere system. Meteorology and hydrology compose the interdisciplinary field of hydrometeorology. Meteorology, climatology, atmospheric physics, and atmospheric chemistry are sub-disciplines of the atmospheric sciences. Different spatial scales are used to describe and predict weather on local, regional, and global levels. Meteorological phenomena are described and quantified by the variables of Earth's atmosphere: temperature, air pressure, water vapour, mass flow, and the variations and interactions of these variables, and how they change over time. Meteorological phenomena are observable weather events that are explained by the science of meteorology. An important branch of weather forecasting is marine weather forecasting as it relates to maritime and coastal safety, in which weather effects also include atmospheric interactions with large bodies of water. It was not until after the elucidation of the laws of physics and more particularly, the development of the computer, allowing for the automated solution of a great many equations that model the weather, in the later half of the 20th century that significant breakthroughs in weather forecasting were achieved. Prior attempts at prediction of weather depended on historical data. The 19th century saw modest progress in the field after weather observation networks were formed across broad regions.

The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not begin until the 18th century. Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and atmospheric physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting.

Meteorologist tools