The number of applicants to meteorology education programs has decreased over the past 15 years, and now employers are having a hard time recruiting, reports TV4 News.
A major employer is the Swedish Armed Forces, which, following NATO membership, will need more defense meteorologists.
The need is increasing in the Swedish Armed Forces at the same time as we have retirements and natural departures. We see a great need in the future, says defense meteorologist Jonas Lilja to TV4.
Even at the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), there are already too few meteorologists, and they have to work overtime and cover for each other, according to Erik Höjgård-Olsen, forecasting meteorologist at SMHI. He believes that the profession can become more important as extreme weather becomes more common.
If the future climate consists more often of extreme weather events, the consequences of each weather forecast will play a greater role.
