Argentine Meteorologist Celeste Saulo to Lead UN Weather Agency

The U.N.’s weather service, the World Meteorological Organization, selected Argentine meteorologist Celeste Saulo Thursday to be the agency’s first woman secretary-general, effective in January 2024.

In a statement, the WMO said Saulo was elected by the organization’s 193 members as part of the World Meteorological Congress being held at the U.N. in Geneva.

In the WMO statement, Saulo said inequality and climate change are among the biggest threats facing the world, and that “the WMO must contribute to strengthening the meteorological and hydrological services to protect populations and their economies, providing timely and effective services and early warning systems.”

She said, “My ambition is to lead the WMO towards a scenario in which the voice of all members is heard equally, prioritizing those most vulnerable and in which the actions it undertakes are aligned with the needs and particularities of each one of them.”

Saulo, 59, has been director of the National Meteorological Service of Argentina since 2014 and is currently the first vice-president of the WMO.

She will succeed outgoing Secretary-General Petteri Taalas of Finland, who will complete his two-year term at the end of this year.

At: https://www.voanews.com/a/argentinian-meteorologist-celeste-saulo-to-lead-un-weather-agency/7118899.html

Argentine meteorologist Celeste Saulo, who was tapped to direct the UN's World Meteorological Organization.

Appointed as the first woman to head Argentina's National Meteorological Service by former President Cristina Kirchner in 2014, Saulo will likewise be the first woman to lead the prestigious UN body.