Abstract
Urbanites, i.e., people living in urban environments, should be geoscience-literate. Them living under a _‘veil of geo-ignorance’_ is not a valid option for responsible geosciences. The urban realm is a social-ecological system on a planetary scale. Its complex-adaptive dynamics couple human practices and the geosphere (e.g., buildings, mines, shipping), causing massive fluxes (e.g., energy, water, materials), implies extensive civil-engineering works (e.g., housing, transport, infrastructure), and applying geoscience expertise. (e.g., foundations, drainage, position) A well-functioning urban realm requires professionals, who design, build and govern it, to use geoscience expertise. Urban environments emphasise socio-economic interactions of people sheltered from everyday geosphere phenomena (e.g., weather, climate, slope-stability) and many disasters (e.g., floods, storms, heatwaves). However, most people have little insight into how much urban lifestyles depend on geosphere functions. That ignorance is a systemic risk for modern societies, which geoscience professionals should mitigate, and meteorology gives an example of ‘how’. Modern meteorologists combine weather forecasts with information on meteorological phenomena, climate change, and impacts on economic and social activities. They show how weather forecasts determine people's work and life, demonstrating the wealth of geoscientific information and professional practices. The yet-to-answer question: How to do alike?