Met Office still 'best forecaster in galaxy' despite BBC rejection

UK weather group's influence continues to be felt in everything from space missions to farming

Frozen ducks' feet and the flight paths of midges: the uses of forecasts by the Met Office over the 160 years that it has quietly underpinned the fabric of the nation are many and varied. They played a crucial role in D-day and still serve our military today; they keep planes in the sky and space missions on course. Should a mountain ever fall off the side of the Canary Islands, they will warn us of a tsunami. As unlikely an event as the latter should prove, be assured the Met Office has our backs.

In March, however, this long-established British institution will part company with another. After 95 years, the BBC will drop the national weather service in favour of an international private forecasting company, MeteoGroup, a move that the broadcaster says will save it millions of pounds.