A new special issue of the History of Meteorology
By Xiao Liu and Xiaoping Xue (Tsinghua University)
When reflecting on Asia’s past, our attention often turns to land-based empires, national boundaries, or dynastic politics. Yet the oceans that surround and connect the region—the South China Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Western Pacific—have long been crucial spaces of exchange, mobility, and contestation. These maritime worlds were also environments of uncertainty, shaped by storms, shifting monsoons, and changing seasonal cycles. To navigate, exploit, and govern these waters, states, empires, and local communities alike relied on meteorological knowledge.
This is the starting point of our special issue, Connecting Oceanic Asia: Production and Application of Meteorological Knowledge, which invites us to reflect on how weather observation, forecasting, and scientific infrastructures were central to the making of modern Asia. Meteorological knowledge in Asia was rarely produced in isolation. It emerged through layered exchanges between indigenous traditions of weather lore, colonial and imperial science, and global networks of information sharing.
In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, ports like Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Manila became crucial nodes in the circulation of weather data. Signals about storms, for instance, could be transmitted by telegraph across vast distances, linking coastal observatories to inland stations and international forecasting centers. At the same time, meteorological knowledge had multiple audiences and applications. Farmers relied on seasonal forecasts to plan their crops; shipping companies adjusted routes to minimize risks; and fishermen’s harvests were profoundly shaped by weather conditions. Scientific expertise thus intersected with everyday survival, economic interests, and commercial ambition. Local observers, technicians, and intellectuals often played decisive roles. They adapted imported instruments to local contexts, translated meteorological concepts into vernacular languages, and challenged or revised dominant theories. This hybridity created distinctive forms of meteorological knowledge—at once global and regional, imperial and local.
The theme of“Connecting Oceanic Asia” thus underscores how as an applied science meteorology offers a lens to reframe regional history. It brings into focus the transnational circulation of knowledge, the entanglement of science and the lived realities of those who relied on forecasts for survival. It also reminds us that Asia’s modern history cannot be told solely through the prism of nation-states; it must account for the oceanic connections, scientific infrastructures, and environmental uncertainties that shaped the region.
To capture these dynamics, the special issue brings together a wide range of case studies: from typhoon research in the Philippines and wartime meteorology in Yan’an, to the Chinese Maritime Customs’ meteorological standards shaped by William Doberck. Other essays trace how climate regionalization was imagined in modern China, how marine meteorology developed at the Dinghai station, and how colonial medical science linked weather and health in tropical Asia. Studies of Qingdao Observatory and the popular press in Shanghai further highlight how meteorological knowledge circulated across transnational and social boundaries.
Putting this special issue together was a logistical and intellectual challenge—one that mirrored our shared pursuit of building connections amidst uncertainty. The final collection reflects joint efforts across disciplines, languages, and archives, much like the meteorological networks it examines. Our contributors embody this diversity themselves: they come from across Asia, including China, the Philippines, and Singapore, and represent different stages of academic life, from early-career researchers to established scholars. This variety of perspectives enriches the special issue, underscoring how meteorology has always been a field shaped by multiple voices.
These connections were not only virtual. We also held an in-person workshop in Beijing, where contributors exchanged ideas, tested arguments, and refined drafts in a spirit of collaboration. The energy of these discussions carried into the final essays, making the special issue a truly collective product. We hope these contributions encourage readers to see climate history differently—one where the oceanic Asian environment is not a backdrop but a protagonist—and to appreciate the collaborative craft of historical scholarship.
Today, as climate change and extreme weather events once again highlight the vulnerability of oceanic Asia, revisiting the history of meteorological knowledge is more than an academic exercise. It helps us understand how past societies grappled with uncertainty, how science was mobilized for power and protection, and how the seas and skies remain shared and contested spaces of human endeavor.