A leading Argentine meteorologist has been elected as the first female head of the United Nations weather agency.
The World Meteorological Organization said Celeste Saulo received the necessary two-thirds backing from member states Thursday.
Saulo has served as the director of Argentina's National Meteorological Service since 2014.
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Argentina's Celeste Saulo poses after she was elected as Secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, on June 1, 2023. (Martial Trezzini/Keystone via AP)
An experienced academic and researcher, she succeeds Petteri Taalas, who steps down after two terms as secretary general of the Geneva-based WMO at the end of the year. Saulo joined the WMO's executive council in 2015.
The agency plays a key role coordinating international meteorological work, an issue that has become increasingly prominent due to the weather extremes resulting from climate change.