Every year on May 20th, we commemorate World Metrology Day, marking the anniversary of the signing of the Meter Convention in Paris in 1875. This momentous event laid the groundwork for global collaboration in the field of metrology, that underpins industry, innovation, scientific discovery, and international trade, all while contributing to improving the quality of life and protecting the environment.

For 2024, World Metrology Day is dedicated to the theme of Sustainability, to raise awareness on the crucial role of metrology in promoting a sustainable global economy and optimal environmental protection.

2024 is the first year that World Metrology Day is celebrated as an international day designated by UNESCO, further underlining the importance of metrology.

Accurate measurements for Sustainability 

Accurate measurements are the cornerstone of environmental research, enabling us to understand and address complex environmental challenges such as climate change, pollution, and resource depletion. Examples of sustainability-related measurements include monitoring key indicators in the atmosphere (such as ozone and greenhouse gases) and oceans (such as temperature and salinity), measuring energy consumption in industries, buildings, and transportation, managing resources in agriculture and identifying pollution sources.

International Collaboration

National metrology institutes worldwide continuously advance the science of measurement, developing new measurement techniques with the required level of complexity. To ensure the reliability and consistency of these measurement results, national metrology institutes participate in measurement comparisons coordinated by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM) or by regional metrology organizations (in Europe by EURAMET).

The Hellenic Chemical Laboratory of the Independent Authority for Public Revenues (IAPR)

In Greece, the Hellenic Chemical Laboratory of IAPR serves as a reference point for chemical measurements. Housed and operated within the General Chemical State Laboratory, it possesses modern analytical equipment and specialized scientific personnel, boasting a range of capabilities that underpin the accurate determination of sustainability indicators, such as heavy metals in drinking or surface water and residues of pharmaceutical substances in food or the environment.

The Chemical Metrology Laboratory actively contributes to advancing measurement knowledge by participating as a founding member in the respective European metrology networks (EMN) for safe and sustainable food (EMN Food) and for pollution monitoring (EMN PolMo). It also engages in relevant research activities funded by EURAMET and the EU (program 23IND13).

Learn more about the significance of metrology in our daily lives by watching the following video:

To learn more about metrology and related activities, please visit the following websites: