Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
| Dutch: Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut | |
 KNMI headquarters in De Bilt |
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 31 January 1854 |
| Headquarters | De Bilt, Netherlands |
| Deputy Minister responsible | |
| Parent department | Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment |
| Website | www |
The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (Dutch: Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut or KNMI, pronounced [ˈkoːnɪŋklək ˈneːdərˌlɑnts ˌmeteoroˈloːɣis ˌɪnstiˈtyt]) is the Dutch national weather forecasting service, which has its headquarters in De Bilt, in the province of Utrecht, Netherlands.
The primary tasks of KNMI are weather forecasting, monitoring of climate changes and monitoring seismic activity. KNMI is also the national research and information centre for climate, climate change and seismology.
Applied research at KNMI is focused on three areas:
KNMI's applied research also encompasses the development and operational use of atmospheric dispersion models.
Whenever a disaster occurs within Europe which causes the emission of toxic gases or radioactive material into the atmosphere, it is of utmost importance to quickly determine where the atmospheric plume of toxic material is being transported by the prevailing winds and other meteorological factors. At such times, KNMI activates a special calamity service. For this purpose, a group of seven meteorologists is constantly on call day or night. KNMI's role in supplying information during emergencies is included in municipal and provincial disaster management plans. Civil services, fire departments and the police can be provided with weather and other relevant information directly by the meteorologist on duty, through dedicated telephone connections.
KNMI has available two atmospheric dispersion models for use by their calamity service:
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