AKEED, Anwar Ziadat

On Thursday, 16 February, the Jordan Meteorological Department and Arabia Weather website expected snow to fall on hilly areas that are above 900 meters and to accumulate on hilly areas above 1,000 meters in the north and center of the Kingdom. However, these expectations did not materialize.

Against the background of these expectations, many official agencies declared a state of maximum emergency. These include the Greater Amman Municipality, the Ministry of Health, and other municipalities. Also, a large number of citizens experienced a state of emergency in their daily life. Some of them sought permission to absent their children from school. The Ministry of Education decided to declare an official holiday at some directorates.

Once these expectations proved to be untrue, social media users posted comments and satirical photos on weather forecasts due to lack of accuracy. However, the positive side in media practice this time was the apology published by Arabia Weather website on its Facebook page and carried by news websites. The apology included the following clear wording: "We apologize to all those who follow our weather forecasts and who trust Arabia Weather. We have enough courage to admit that our forecasts did not materialize in the capital, Amman. We also have enough courage to extend to you our sincere apology for what happened, hoping that this would not be repeated, although errors are part of the world of weather forecasts."

Meanwhile, the Jordan Meteorological Department published a statement, carried on news websites on Friday, 17 February, in which it spoke about the failure of its expectations for the last depression. It said that it is common knowledge in meteorology and its applications that no weather forecast is 100% accurate and that any weather condition could change.

The apology by the Jordan Meteorological Department and Arabia Weather website for the inaccuracy of their expectations reflects positive behavior, especially since news websites and media outlets depend on these two sources in reporting and publishing weather conditions to their followers. As a matter of fact, apology, as a professional norm, is a correct practice that reflects a high degree of professionalism. It also provides evidence of the extent of development of societies and that they embrace modernity, development, and transparency. Moreover, apology provides evidence of credibility and integrity.

The importance of weather forecasts emanates from the large number of followers on the local and international levels. A Jordanian daily has recently published a summary of what it described as an international study, which revealed that around 39% of Internet users visit weather and meteorology websites and their news and developments.

The Jordanian Media Credibility Monitor (AKEED) had previously published a specialized report on "best media practices in covering weather conditions."