WMO activities
Climate / Flying weather / Measuring
atmospheric composition / Instruments / Satellite meteorology / Technical
cooperation / Tropical
cyclones / Water issues / Education and training / Public weather
services / Natural
disasters /
Climate
Climate
and tourism
Climate
is a key resource for tourism. Climate variability can
affect travellers’ and holiday-makers’ safety and
comfort and needs to be factored into planning and
management. WMO supports National Meteorological and
Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in the provision of data,
information and products to the sector. Many NMHSs have
information and prediction services for specialized
requirements, such as ecotourism, mountaineering and
sailing. In collaboration with the World Tourism
Organization (www.world-tourism.org), WMO has produced the Handbook on Natural
Disaster Reduction in Tourist Areas.
Climate
and health
WMO
is currently collaborating with the World Health
Organization to develop guidelines on heat-health warning
systems. These systems will help meteorological and health
experts establish programmes to warn of potentially deadly
heatwaves and ensure appropriate intervention and support to
minimize human suffering during such events.
For
more information, see http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/index_en.html
Agriculture
and climate
Agriculture
influences weather and climate through land-use measures.
WMO is supporting the establishment of a network which would
provide an integrated approach
and contribute significantly to the process, policy-making,
education and outreach of the WMO/UNEP Intergovernmental on
Panel on Climate Change. An integrated assessment of impacts
would be useful to policy-makers, environmental assessors
and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
Weather,
climate and farmers
The
growth in human population and negative weather and climate
impacts impose considerable pressure on farmers. More
targeted weather and climate forecasting can improve
preparedness and lead to better and sustainable outcomes for
farmers. WMO contributes to this process by providing
knowledge and training in the impacts and their mitigation
of climate variability on agriculture, forestry and
fisheries; the production and application
of weather forecasts and climate predictions; the
development and improvement of advisories, early warnings
and other services; and applications of remote-sensing and
geographical information systems.
For
more information, see http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/wcp/agm/agmp_en.html
• The
January 2005 issue (No. 26) of World Climate News is
available in printed form from the WMO Secretariat and
online (pdf):
http://www.wmo.int/pages/publications/world_climate_news/documents/wcn26.pdf
The
World Area Forecast System (WAFS) was developed by WMO and
the International Civil Aviation Organization in order to
supply meteorological authorities and other
users—particularly airlines—with forecasts of global
upper wind, temperature, humidity and significant weather
phenomena.
WAFS forecasts and operational meteorological information
are broadcast by satellite from the two World Area Forecast
Centres in London, UK, and Washington DC, USA, to over 164
countries, 24 hours a day.
The last phase in establishing WAFS that included the
requirements for the transmission of information about
volcanic ash, tropical cyclones and prevailing visibility,
became applicable in November 2004. The cessation of the
transmission of flight documentation in facsimile charts is
planned for 31 December 2006. Meteorological service
providers will need to install visualization software on
their workstations and train staff to access, process and
decode the information, and prepare flight documentation.
Significant progress has been made in implementing the WMO Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) Programme. More than 200 000 observations per day are now being exchanged via WMO’s Global Telecommunication System. AMDAR data support a wide range of meteorological applications and are an essential source of upper-air information for numerical weather prediction models.
Updated aeronautical meteorology publications:
• Guide to Practices for Meteorological Offices Serving Aviation (WMO-No. 732)
• WMO Technical Regulations (C.3.1), Meteorological Service for International Air Navigation, Volume II (WMO-No. 49)
For more information, see: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/amp/aemp/index_en.html
The
Malaysian Meteorological Service has established a Global
Atmosphere Watch (GAW) station (117° 50’E, 04° 58’N, elevation 427 m asl) in the Danum Valley, a
protected primary forest reserve of 438 km2 in
Sabah, north-eastern Borneo.
Priority
will be given to acquiring measurements of chemical
composition and selected physical characteristics of the
atmosphere in the data-sparse tropics to improve
the understanding of processes in an equatorial rainforest
environment. The data provided are expected to
contribute to the study of environmental issues such as
climate change, stratospheric ozone depletion, transboundary
haze and acid deposition.
The
Danum Valley station will address national research
priorities and fulfill Malaysian’s obligations under a
number of international conventions and agreements.
Collaborative, international projects are also planned on
issues ranging from biomass burning and verification of
atmospheric models to oxidant and particle photochemical
processes above a tropical rainforest. The GAW site will be
part of the regional East Asia Acid Deposition Monitoring
Network and is also expected to contribute valuable data in
support of the International Global
Atmospheric Chemistry initiative “Composition of Asian
Deposition”.
The
200-m high sampling tower at the Danum Valley GAW station
For
further information on the Danum Valley GAW station, see: http://www.kjc.gov.my/htdocs3/GAW.htm.
For
further information on GAW, see: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/arep/gaw/gaw_home_en.html
Measuring
present weather
Present
weather, usually observed, described and reported by a human
observer will be increasingly determined by automatic and
unattended equipment. Work is therefore underway to develop
standards for automated subjective observations. These
standards will depend on available and also possible future
technologies, which will provide alternative information on
present weather. Measurements
in harsh environments (ice, deserts, tropics, the oceans)
and near roads and in urban areas are in focus today, for
which appropriate siting and exposure are particular
challenges. Metadata presented in a uniform format is an
essential requirement for the interpretation of measured
data and siting criteria and metadata standards are being
developed. Quality-management systems and training material
are other areas receiving attention in order to guarantee
reliable data and acceptable measurement.
For more
information about meteorological instruments and methods of
observations, see: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/IMOP/IMOP-home.html.
The WMO
catalogue of instruments and surface observing systems is
updated frequently:
http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/IMOP/instrument-catalog.html
Measuring
precipitation from space
The International
Precipitation Working Group (IPWG) provides an opportunity
for operational and research users of satellite
precipitation measurements to exchange information on
methods and impacts in numerical weather and
hydrometeorological prediction and climate studies. The IPWG
aims to develop better measurements and applications,
improve scientific understanding, and foster international
partnerships.
See http://www.isac.cnr.it/~ipwg/
Bahrain
Meteorological Service
An
automatic weather station network composed of six stations
has been established in Bahrain. A TV weather presentation
system and a climate database management system have been
installed and staff have been trained. The Bahrain
Directorate of Meteorology is now in a better position to
provide precise meteorological information, forecasts and
products to weather-sensitive activities in various sectors
of the economy.
Maldives
Meteorological Service
In
Maldives a project has been carried out to build capacity
(infrastructure and human resources) of the Department of
Meteorology for improved weather forecasts, maintenance of
technical equipment and collection of climate data. Marine meteorology and
seismology have been introduced into its core
activities.
National
Meteorological Centre of the Department of Meteorology,
Maldives
Libyan Meteorological
Service
An
automatic weather station network comprising six stations
has been established in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya. At Tripoli
international, an integrated terminal weather system has
been installed. A central workshop has been established at
the Headquarters of the National Meteorological Centre and
a mobile workshop provided. Several staff members received
training abroad.
An
automatic weather station at El Hamada
(Photo: Météo-France International)
Meteorological
Services of the Caribbean Region
A
pilot project for an automated weather service production
system for the Caribbean area is being developed, building
on the capacity that has been made available at National
Meteorological Services in the region under the
Small Island Developing States (SIDS)-Caribbean Project. The pilot project will be implemented in 2005, initially in two or three
countries. It is expected to contribute to the
sustainability, visibility and development of the
Caribbean Meteorological Services for the benefit of the
region.
In
the field of prevention and mitigation of
tropical-cyclone-related disasters, WMO promotes
cooperation among National Meteorological and Hydrological
Services, and partnerships with global and regional
organizations.
In
South-East Asia, hands-on training is organized for
tropical cyclone and storm surge forecasters and a
research fellowship scheme is being implemented. A model
is being developed to improve forecasts of flooding
associated with tropical cyclones, observation and
telecommunication facilities are being upgraded, and
capacity is being enhanced through fellowships and
attachments of staff to advanced centres in the region.
Typhoon
award
The
2004 Typhoon Committee Natural Disaster Prevention Award
was presented to the China Meteorological Administration.
For
more information about WMO and tropical cyclones, see: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/tcp/index_en.html
Water
resources
WMO
helps National Hydrological Services build up capacity so
that they can deliver essential services such as
water-resources monitoring, extreme hydrological events
forecasting, studying the effect of increased
anthropogenic changes on river flow and assessing the
effects of climate change and variability on water
availability.
Criteria
have been defined for identifying pristine river basins in
order to detect trends and data exchange formats and
protocols, including metadata, are being developed.
Extreme
climatic conditions can affect water availability—too
much or too little—with consequences for food security
in vulnerable regions. Adaptation strategies are being
drawn up which focus on changing cropping patterns and
improving the resistance of varieties of crops, as well as
on the forecasting and early warning of flood and drought
events.
For more
information, see http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/hwrp/homs/homs_en.html
Dealing
with floods
Integrated
flood management (IFM) aims at maximizing the productivity
of floodplains whilst minimizing loss of life. IFM touches
on many areas of law on various institutional and
geographical scales, as it covers interventions related to
flood prevention, preparedness and mitigation, and
emergency response, recovery and rehabilitation. A legal
framework is being elaborated which will provide guidance
on how to translate IFM principles into practice.
Initially for legal experts, it is ultimately aimed at
policy-makers, flood practitioners and stakeholder groups,
NGOs and the media.
For more
information, see: http://www.apfm.info/ifm.htm and http://207.228.229.64/iwrm_tutorial/mainmenu.htm
Forthcoming training events
-
Regional
Training Seminar for National Trainers of RA II and RA
V, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, 16-27 May 2005
-
Training
Seminar on Curriculum Development of Aeronautical
Meteorology, UK
Meteorological Office College, FitzRoy Road, Exeter,
7-11 March 2005 (in English).
Training
publications
A
CD-ROM containing electronic versions of 49 out-of-print
WMO “Blue Series” training publications (pdf files of
scanned texts and figures) in meteorology and operational
hydrology has been widely distributed. The publications are in Arabic, English, French,
Spanish and Russian.
For
more information about WMO training materials, see: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/etr/index_en.html
For
the WMO catalogue of publications and how to order, see: http://www.wmo.int/e-catalog/
METEOSAT
Second Generation (MSG) satellite products are being used
routinely for forecasting and other services at a number
of National Meteorological Services (NMSs) in Europe.
Staff of NMSs in eastern European and Balkan countries
recently had the opportunity to learn more about MSG
products and their applications. Other issues of
increasing importance for these NMSs and for which WMO is
providing guidance and assistance are: handling the media (interviews, press releases);
quality management; improving warning systems, including
coordination with other national authorities; corporate
identity; marketing; Internet homepages; and responding to
users and their needs through regular consultations and
surveys.
The year
2004 saw a series of major disasters, ranging from one of
the most devastating tropical cyclone seasons ever in the
North Atlantic and western North Pacific Oceans, to severe
flooding in East and South-East Asia, and culminating in
the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December.
WMO is
promoting a culture of pro-active disaster prevention and
preparedness, based on risk assessment and management.
Hence the need to establish and strengthen early warning
systems. Resources required for the provision of
meteorological and hydrological warning systems should be
regarded as an investment in view of the benefits to be
derived—all the more so if weather and climate extremes
are to increase, resulting in socio-economic setbacks,
notably for developing nations.
For more
information, see: http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/drr/index_en.html
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