In 2023, during a search for material on two other meteorologists from the Institute of Meteorology (Warnecke and Fortak) as part of the University Library’s Digital Interview Collections, a remarkable audio recording from 1966 was discovered and digitized. In it, Prof. Dr. Richard Scherhag, founder of the Institute of Meteorology at the Freie Universität Berlin, speaks about the importance and future of meteorology.

Scherhag offers fascinating insights into the role of meteorologists in an increasingly technology-driven world. He emphasizes how important meteorology has become for various areas of life – from aviation and agriculture to energy supply. Unfortunately, the slides that Prof. Dr. Richard Scherhag apparently used during the recording have not been preserved.

The complete audio recording titled “The Role of the Meteorologist in the World of the Future” is now available via Zenodo:

https://zenodo.org/records/15493116 (Duration: 1 hour, 32 minutes, and 12 seconds).

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The “Digital Interview Collections” team is a center of expertise for oral history at the University Library. In collaboration with researchers from Freie Universität Berlin and external partners, it develops interactive research and learning environments for oral history collections, thus making historical voices accessible.