The history of DMI
The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) is one of the oldest public institutions in Denmark. The DMI we know today was established in 1990, when the Meteorological Institute, the Aviation Weather Service and the Armed Forces Weather Service were merged. However, the history of DMI dates back almost 200 years.
Meteorological Institute in 1872
In 1820, H.C. Ørsted (1777–1851) proposed that Denmark should carry out systematic, nationwide meteorological observations. As a result, the Meteorological Committee was established in 1827. The work of the committee led to the creation of a central observatory in Copenhagen, which began collecting systematic data across the country.
However, it was not until 1872 that the Meteorological Institute was formally established. This was done with a grant of 7,400 rigsdaler for its first year. The institute had four employees, with Niels H.C. Hoffmeyer (1836–1884) as its director. Here, staff collected and disseminated information, scientific research was intensified, and the institute grew rapidly with new activities.
In 1971, the Meteorological Institute moved to Lyngbyvej 100 in Copenhagen Ø, where it initially shared premises with a textile factory.
The Aviation Weather Service in 1926
Civil scheduled aviation began in the mid-1920s. At first, flight crews received only limited information about current weather conditions along their routes. This proved insufficient. As a result, an aviation meteorological service was established in 1926. This laid the foundation for the Aviation Weather Service, which later developed under the Danish Civil Aviation Administration.
The Armed Forces Weather Service in 1953
In the early 1950s, military aviation was consolidated within a newly established air force. Primarily to serve the air force, the Armed Forces Weather Service was established in 1953. It was led by a weather service inspector and staffed by technical meteorologists (“aviation meteorologists”) from the Aviation Weather Service, along with military and civilian personnel responsible for observations, communications and chart plotting.
The three Danish weather services in 1990
In the same year, 1953, the Ministry of Defence established a Weather Services Council with advisory status, also covering the Meteorological Institute and the Aviation Weather Service. The three weather services cooperated on, for example, the joint training of technical meteorologists and on areas relating to the planning and operation of observation and communication networks.
In 1988, the government decided to merge the three weather services, and on 1 January 1990 the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) was established and brought together at Lyngbyvej.
