Meteorology of the Dutch East Indies

Abstract

WE are indebted to the Royal Observatory of Batavia for the following valuable publications:—(1) meteorological, magnetical, and seismometric observations for 1906, and (2) rainfall observations made at the Netherlands East Indian stations for 1907. It may not be generally known that the establishment of this important observatory was primarily due to a suggestion made by Baron A. v. Humboldt to the Governor-General of Netherlands India in 1856 (Bayard, Presidential Address to the Royal Meteorological Society, January, 1899). Humboldt pointed out the great value that a magnetical and meteorological observatory at Batavia would be for the promotion of knowledge concerning those phenomena between the tropics. The Amsterdam Academy strongly supported the suggestion, and invited Prof. Buys Ballot to draw up a plan. The proposal of the latter, in 1857, included the organisation of hourly observations at Batavia and the establishment of secondary stations at some places in the East Indian Archipelago, and Dr. P. A. Bergsma was subsequently appointed director of the proposed system. Hourly observations were commenced at Batavia in 1866, and have been continued without interruption down to the present time, with summaries after each five-yearly period, but the establishment of second-order stations was not carried out on account of expense. Wind observations are, however, made at many places by non-official observers, and are collected by the observatory. In 1879 Dr. Bergsma organised a system of rainfall observations throughout the archipelago which has since been regularly continued.