WMO activities
Telecommunications / Satellite
meteorology / Education
and training / Oceanography and marine meteorology / Climate matters / Climate
research / Hydrology
and water resources / Atmospheric
research and environment
Telecommunications
Early
warning systems in the Indian Ocean
Significant
technical improvements are being made to WMO’s Global
Telecommunication System (GTS) at National Meteorological
and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of Indian Ocean rim
countries. These improvements constitute important
contributions to the Indian Ocean-Tsunami Warning System
(IO-TWS), part of coordinated and sustainable multi-hazard,
multi-purpose early warning systems (EWSs).
The
upgrades to the GTS will enable NMHSs to receive accurate
and timely bulletins and warnings within a new goal of two
minutes, allowing governments to respond rapidly and
appropriately in the event of tsunamis and other natural
hazards.
WMO estimates the
upgrades to GTS hubs at the NMHSs of Kenya, Madagascar and
the United Republic of Tanzania should be operational within
nine months. It is also planned to speed up links in the GTS
Indian Ocean regional network in Sri Lanka and Maldives.
See:http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/drr/index_en.html
Satellite
meteorology
Satellite
meteorology made a step forward in November with the
installation of the ground system for the JASON-2 Ocean
Altimetry Programme. Partners in JASON-2 are the European
Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological
Satellites (EUMETSAT), the Centre National d'Etudes
Spatiales (France), the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and National Aeronautics and Space
Administration.
EUMETSAT’s
satellites (METEOSAT-6, -7 and -8 over Europe and Africa and
METEOSAT-5 over the Indian Ocean) make a significant
contribution to weather forecasting and to the monitoring of
the global climate.
Jason-2 will
collect global ocean surface data to increase understanding
of the forces behind global climate change and seasonal
weather changes.
In October,
WMO and the United Nations consortium for satellite imagery,
UNOSAT, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
concerning the promotion of space science, meteorology,
climatology and hydrology for the safety of human life and
property, disaster reduction and mitigation and sustainable
economic and social development, including education and
training.
Foremost in
the MoU is an exchange of information, representation and
consultation. Meteorological information from WMO’s
Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres will be made
available to UNOSAT, which, in turn, will provide
high-resolution satellite imagery in support of a wide range
of activities.
The
information generated will be made available to National
Meteorological and Hydrological Services. As the northern
hemisphere winter approached, UNOSAT was already incorporating snow forecasts for the assistance of
relief efforts in Pakistan after the October earthquake.
Also in
October, the Islamic Republic of Iran launched its first
satellite. The data from SINA-1 will also be used for
research and applications in meteorology, geology,
agriculture, natural resources and natural disasters.
See: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/sat/index_en.html
http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/
http://www.eumetsat.int
(credit:
EUMETSAT)
Education
and training
Education and
training in many aspects of meteorology, climatology,
hydrology and related fields is essential if National
Meteorological and Hydrological Services are to build up
their capacity and respond to the requirements of users and
to participate in a wide range of activities on the
international level. A few examples of the training
activities organized by WMO, sometimes in collaboration with
Members or other organizations, are given below.
Satellite
applications
In
collaboration with EUMETSAT, WMO organized two training
courses for the user community in Africa. The objectives
were to optimize the use of data from meteorological
satellites and the use of Meteosat Second Generation
receiving stations; and to increase the knowledge and skills
of meteorological trainers and potential trainers.
Statistics
in applied climatology
Training in
the use of statistics in applied climatology for African
professionals working in meteorology, hydrology,
agriculture, health, food security, construction, research
and renewable energy was carried out.
Part of the
training was done via e-learning prior to the course proper
in order to secure direct involvement of more participants
for a longer period at reduced cost. The e-module covered
statistical software and topics such as data acquisition,
handling and management. The workshop analysed statistical
software and exchanged ideas on data acquisition and
management.
Meteorological
warning systems
Early warning
systems are of paramount importance in preparing communities
against the approach of a number of hydrometeorological
hazards. WMO co-sponsored with Hong Kong, China, a training
course on the design and operation of meteorological warning
systems for developing countries. The course aimed to
provide participants with a better understanding of the key
underlying factors.
Aeronautical
meteorology
Aviation is
one of the foremost users of meteorological information. WMO
and the China Meteorological Administration co-sponsored a
training course for 15 aeronautical forecasters from
developing countries. Aviation weather hazards were the main
focus, covering turbulence, icing, thunderstorms, low cloud
and poor visibility and their effect on aircraft operations,
hazard detection methods (including aerological diagrams),
satellite imagery, Doppler radar, empirical forecasting
techniques and the use of numerical weather prediction for
nowcasting.
See: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/etr/index_en.html
Oceanography
and marine meteorology
WMO and its
partners are responding to an increasing demand for marine
observations in support of a wide range of applications.
Some of these are weather forecasting, tsunami monitoring,
coastal area management, fishing, ship routeing, marine
pollution prevention and clean up and climate modelling and
prediction.
Vital ocean
surface and subsurface observations are provided by an
international array of drifting buoys, which now consists of
1 250 operational units in all the world’s oceans.
Representatives
of meteorological and oceanographic services, buoy
manufacturers and satellite data telecommunication providers
met in October to discuss a wide range of relevant issues
concerning drifting buoys. These included technical
developments, instrument evaluation, network performance,
operational enhancements, data telecommunication and
assimilation and research and operational applications.
A major aim
identified by the meeting is increased deployments in
data-sparse areas, notably in the southern hemisphere.
Another is to equip half the drifting buoys with barometers,
including some 300 in the Southern Ocean.
Longer-term
objectives are to establish a better dialogue with users; to
design drifting buoys that last longer; and to reduce data
availability delays.
Drifting
buoys provide data for weather forecasting, tsunami
monitoring, coastal area management, fishing, ship routeing,
marine pollution prevention and clean up and climate
modelling and prediction.
See: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/amp/mmop/index_en.html
Climate
matters
Climate,
weather and infectious diseases
WMO is
encouraging further studies into the impact of climate in
the propagation of infectious diseases, including the
emerging threats of
avian influenza (bird flu) and
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).
The role of
climate in the initiation and spread of certain diseases is
one aspect of research aiming to save lives through
effective early warning systems. Such systems are developed
by weather and climate experts in partnership with health
and social services. WMO and the World Health Organization
are working on guidelines to be used by meteorological and
health agencies.
Climate
change and biodiversity
WMO is
participating in studies of the linkages between
biodiversity and climate change.
The areas
covered are identification of the major properties that
contribute to ecosystem resilience; integration of
biodiversity considerations in the implementation of
adaptation activities to climate change; and approaches,
methods and tools for planning, designing, and implementing
adaptation activities.
Current focus
is on adding case-studies and on developing synergies
between the United Nations Conventions on Biodiversity and
Desertification for the exchange of experience and
information.
Adaptation to
climate change for the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity is a rapidly developing area. One project being
formulated is the preparation of new National Adaptation
Plans of Action by national Governments in the context of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Adaptation to
the effects of climate change due to both natural and human
factors is a high priority for all nations. WMO assists
developing countries to improve their resilience and
integrate adaptation goals into their sustainable
development strategies.
Climate
and land degradation
More than 250
million people are directly affected by desertification. In
addition, another one billion in at least 100 countries are
at risk. They include the world’s poorest and most fragile
citizens. Combating desertification is essential to secure
their food and livelihoods.
Sustainable
development efforts for dryland countries must be based on a
sound understanding of the different factors that contribute
to land degradation. The United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD) has recognized the important role of
climate and its variations. Land-management practices can
combat land degradation. To accurately assess them, however,
the climate resources and the risk of climate-related or
induced natural disasters in a region must be known.
WMO and other
relevant organizations will be working with the UNCCD’s
Committee on Science and Technology to address the
interactions of climate, land degradation and livelihood
security.
-
The
Aral Sea: Water, Climate and Environmental Change in
Central Asia. (WMO-No. 982) Flip book.
-
Climate
and Land Degradation (WMO-No.989), brochure, 32 pp.
See: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/index_en.html
Climate
research
Polar
meteorology
The Arctic
climate exhibits the fastest pace of warming on the planet
and 2005 brought another record: the area of Arctic Ocean
sea ice in September was the smallest since satellite
observations began.
The year 2005
was also one of intense debate on the future of polar
research. The Second International Conference on Arctic
Research Planning (Copenhagen, Denmark, November) identified
five major research challenges for polar science: climate
and environmental regimes of the Arctic region; Arctic
societies and change; Arctic cryo-hydrological systems and
global interactions; Arctic terrestrial and marine life and
systems; and adapting and coping with change in the Arctic.
WMO
participates with international partner organizations and
programmes in the Climate and Cryosphere project, which
addresses several of these challenges. It seeks to enhance
and coordinate efforts to monitor the cryosphere, to study
climate-related processes involving the cryosphere, to model
and understand the cryosphere’s role in the climate
system, and to develop cryosphere-based indicators of the
global change.
A recent
finding obtained from an ice core at the Station Dome
Concordia in the Antarctic is that the current levels of the
greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane in the
atmosphere are higher than at any time in the past 650 000
years.
The importance of this
finding is that it spans two different regimes of climate
variations, namely the modern regime, which dates back to
approximately 420 000 years, and a somewhat different regime
before it. An intensive array of ice-coring activities is
envisaged both in the Antarctic and in Greenland for the
International Polar Year 2007-2008.
The core
drilled at Dome Concordia has air samples dating back 650
000 years.
(Photo: A. Lori/Italian National Agency for New
Technologies)
Hydrology
and water resources
Water-resources
assessment
Knowledge of a
country’s water resources availability and distribution is
a prerequisite for their sustainable management. Such
knowledge can be acquired through regular and long-term
monitoring, and the capacity to perform an adequate
assessment of the resource. To assist countries, WMO and
UNESCO prepared a handbook on water-resources assessment
for the evaluation of national capacities.
WMO also
organizes workshops to present this methodology to experts
from National Hydrological Services (NHSs). The last one was
for western and central African countries.
It emerged
that hydrological monitoring and water-resources assessment
capabilities in these countries are affected not only by the
obsolescence of observing networks but also a reduction in
the staffing of NHSs.
Evaluation of
capabilities will be useful when preparing proposals for
international cooperation projects in the area of water
resources.
The various
factors that concur to create national capacity to perform
water-resources assessment include an institutional and
legal framework, data-collection and management systems,
education, training and staff management.
Improved
hydrological data
The
hydrological observations and products that are required and
available for scientific applications such as global
water-cycle experiments, the initiation and validation of
climate models and hydrological process studies, are
generally inadequate.
WMO is
collaborating in an initiative to identify, define and
facilitate a global “network of networks” of
hydrological parameters. Eight projects aim at reducing the
shortcomings for 11 hydrological parameters, including river
discharge, lake levels and soil moisture.
One global
terrestrial network for the measurement of river runoff has
been defined, based on 380 existing river gauge stations in
82 countries. Time-series of discharge data that used to
reside in national archives are now available at the Global
Runoff Data Centre (Koblenz, Germany)—and the flow of data
is continuing.
A similar
initiative is underway for information on lake levels and
area; proposals for a world data centre for lakes are being
evaluated.
The use of
globally measured hydrological information has been limited
by a lack of common data standards and operating procedures.
A hydrological metadata standard has now been completed.
Entirely based on existing ISO standards for geoscientific
information, it is well embedded in the WMO Core Metadata
Standard.
An inventory
of global networks and data centres in the hydrological
domain has been completed. This is an essential element for
the distribution of global responsibility for all
parameters.
See: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/hwrp/homs/homs_en.html
Atmospheric
research and environment
Ozone
watch
The phase-out
of ozone-depleting substances is seen in the slow decline in
the so-called Equivalent Effective Stratospheric Chlorine (EESC).
This parameter includes all the chlorine- and
bromine-containing substances. The EESC peaked around 1997
and is expected to return to pre-1980 levels around the
middle of this century. This means that the Antarctic ozone
hole will recur every year for some 50 years.
Signs of the
first phase of recovery have been detected in middle
latitudes but not in the polar regions.
The 2005
Antarctic ozone hole attained its maximum size of 27 million
km2 in mid-September. This is significantly
larger than the maximum reached in 2004 (23 million km2)
but is still smaller than the ozone holes of 2000 and 2003,
which peaked at 28.5 and 29 million km2,
respectively.
Interannual
dynamical variability makes it difficult to detect ozone
recovery in the polar regions. Many more years of
observations will probably be needed before a trend can be
detected.
See: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/gaw_home_en.html
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Climate 
