Editing Weather balloon (section)

== Launch time, location, and uses ==
[[Image:Hydrogen balloon at upper air.jpg|thumb|left|A hydrogen filled balloon at [[Cambridge Bay]] Upper Air station, Nunavut, Canada]]
[[File:011 Launch of wiki payload into stratosphere MAH02425.webm|thumb|Launch of wiki payload into stratosphere]]
Weather balloons are launched around the world for observations used to diagnose current conditions as well as by human forecasters and [[numerical weather prediction|computer models]] for [[weather forecasting]]. Between 900 and 1,300 locations around the globe do routine releases, two or four times daily, usually at 0000 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] and 1200 UTC.<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=http://www.ua.nws.noaa.gov/factsheet.htm |title=NWS factsheet|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160220121505/http://www.ua.nws.noaa.gov/factsheet.htm |archive-date=2016-02-20 }}</ref><ref name=WOUK/><ref name=WMO/><ref name=WeatherSTEM/> Some facilities will also do occasional supplementary special releases when meteorologists determine there is a need for additional data between the 12-hour routine launches in which time much can change in the atmosphere.  Military and civilian government meteorological agencies such as the [[National Weather Service]] in the US typically launch balloons, and by international agreements, almost all the data are shared with all nations.

Specialized uses also exist, such as for aviation interests, pollution monitoring, photography or videography, and research. Examples include [[Ceiling balloon|pilot balloon]]s (Pibal). Field research programs often use mobile launchers from land vehicles as well as ships and aircraft (usually [[dropsonde]]s in this case). In recent years, weather balloons have also been used for scattering human ashes at high altitudes.
The weather balloon was also used to create the fictional entity 'Rover' during the production of the 1960s TV series ''[[The Prisoner]]'' in Portmeirion, Gwynedd, North Wales, UK in September 1966. This was retained in further scenes shot at MGM Borehamwood UK during 1966–67.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Prisoner Handbook|last=Paul-Davies|first=Steven|publisher=Pan Books|year=2002|isbn=978-0-230-53028-7|location=London}}</ref>