A meteorologist is a scientist who studies the atmosphere and uses that knowledge to understand and predict the weather. They analyze data from satellites, weather stations, and computers to make forecasts.
From ‘meteorology’ plus the suffix ‘-ist,’ meaning a person who practices or is an expert in something. ‘Meteorology’ itself comes from Greek words meaning ‘things in the air.’
Despite the name, meteorologists don’t study space rocks; they study the ‘meteors’ Aristotle talked about—things happening in the air. Modern meteorologists rely more on math and computer models than on simply ‘looking at the sky.’
Meteorology, like many sciences, was long male-dominated, and women meteorologists often faced barriers to advancement or were confined to lower-status roles such as weather presenting. Media representations have sometimes sexualized women weather presenters while framing male counterparts as experts.
Use “meteorologist” without assuming gender, and distinguish between scientific expertise and on-air presentation roles without devaluing women in either.
["weather scientist","atmospheric scientist"]
Women meteorologists and atmospheric scientists have made important contributions to weather prediction and climate science, even when they were not equally visible to the public.
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