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The 60th session of the Executive Council (June 2008) conferred the 2008 WMO Research Award for Young Scientists on two scientists. Ying Sun (China) received her award in Beijing on 28 October 2008 for her co-authored paper entitled “How often does it rain?” published in the Journal of Climate.
Land-use and food security experts meet
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THORPEX: The Observing System Research and Predictability Experiment
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The seventh session of the THORPEX International Core Steering Committee is currently taking place at WMO headquarters in Geneva, 18-20 November 2008.
THORPEX aims at accelerating improvements in the accuracy of one-day to two-week high-impact weather forecasts for the benefit of society, the economy and the environment. It is a key research meteorological component of the WMO Natural Disaster Reduction and Mitigation Programme.
THORPEX is one of the most ambitious fundamental, complex and promising international efforts in the field of atmospheric and related sciences.
The next airplane you fly on could be one of 250 000 around the world that stream critical weather and climate information to users on the ground. This large fleet of aircraft participates in the international Aircraft Meteorological Data Relay (AMDAR) programme that coordinates the collection of meteorological and environmental data worldwide. The data collected supports, among others, weather forecasting, climate prediction and disaster early warning systems.
Lower winds of 32 km/h (115 km/h over the weekend) to the north, north-west and south of Los Angeles, California, have helped firefighters battling wildfires. The fires have destroyed more than 800 homes and prompted the evacuation of 50 000 people. It may yet be a few more days before the fires are under control.
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Image: NASA, 18 November 2008 |
During the current Atlantic hurricane season, 16 cyclones have formed, of which eight were hurricanes, making it the busiest since the record-breaking season of 2005, which produced 28 cyclones.
The season began more actively than normal with four storms before August and the earliest known date for three storms to be active on the same day (Hurricane Bertha, and Tropical Storms Cristobal and Dolly were all active on 20 July). It was one of only nine seasons on record to have a major hurricane before August and the only season in recorded history to feature a major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) in every month from July to November.
Haiti was hit by four hurricanes (Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike) and Cuba by three (Gustav, Ike and Paloma). Ike was the most destructive of the season and Hanna the deadliest (537 deaths). Bertha was the longest-lived July Atlantic tropical cyclone on record.
The Atlantic hurricane season lasts officially from 1 June to 30 November. The average hurricane season produces about 10 storms, of which six become hurricanes.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat in Bonn, Germany, has reported that greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized countries continue to rise. Data show that the emissions of 40 industrialized countries having greenhouse-gas reporting obligations under the Convention remained in 2006 below the 1990 level by about 5 per cent, but rose by 2.3 per cent in the time-frame 2000 to 2006.
The report comes two weeks before the UN Climate Change Conference takes place in Poznan, Poland (1-12 December 2008). The Conference constitutes the half-way mark of a two-year negotiating process, set to culminate in an ambitious international climate change agreement in Copenhagen in 2009. It will also be an opportunity for ministers to lay the foundations for long-term cooperation to address climate change.
The World Food Programme and the International Fund for Agricultural Development have launched an initiative which aims to help provide poor rural farmers with financial protection following natural hazard events. WMO will be a strategic partner in this work for its critical role of establishing “quality and accessibility standards for weather data around the world”.
The Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) addressed the high-level segment of the 63rd session of the ITU Council on 13 November 2008, in which he spoke of ITU’s role in helping countries to mitigate the effects of climate change, including the use of emergency telecommunications and warning systems for disaster relief. ITU, in collaboration with its membership was “identifying the necessary radio-frequency spectrum for climate monitoring and disaster prediction, detection and relief, including a promising cooperation with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in the field of remote-sensing applications”.
Tropical storm Noul is about to make landfall on the south-east coast of Viet Nam. It is forecast to move westward and to downgrade gradually in intensity within the next 24 hours.
The RSMC Tokyo Typhoon Centre has been closely monitoring the storms and providing guidance to the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in the respective regions.
For further information about severe weather, storm surge and related disaster preparedness advisories, please consult the National Weather Service of the countries concerned.
Severe Weather Information Centre
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A deep depression in the south-west Bay of Bengal developed this morning and is currently located about 520 km east-southeast of Chennai, India. It is forecast to move northwestward, heading towards the Andra Pradesh coast, with further intensification to become a tropical storm. Satellite imagery shows the periphery of the system already over the coast of Bangladesh and northern Myanmar, indicating that flooding could be expected in those areas. The RSMC New Delhi Tropical Cyclone Centre is watching the system and providing guidance to the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in the area.
For further information about severe weather, storm surge and related disaster preparedness advisories, please consult the National Weather Service of the countries concerned.
See also the Severe Weather Information Service.
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During its 13th session, the Commission for Hydrology has unanimously re-elected Mr Bruce Stewart (Australia) president and Mr Julius Wellens-Mensah (Ghana) vice-president for the next intersessional period.
Some 12 people have been killed in two landslide incidents triggered by torrential rains in the Central and Rift Valley provinces of Kenya. At least 16 others were seriously injured, 20 families left homeless and others evacuated. Rains were hampering rescue efforts.
The death toll from floods and mudslides has risen to 19 since the short rains started one month ago. The Kenya Meteorological Department says the shot rains will end next month.
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Under a project to modernize the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) two automatic raingauge systems and an automatic weather station will be installed in each district of Tamil Nadu by February 2009. Eventually, some 3 600 automatic raingauge systems, 1 150 automatic weather stations and 55 Doppler weather radars will be established across the country. There are also plans to launch a 24-hour weather channel for the benefit of farmers and fishermen. The announcements were made by the IMD at a recent workshop “Weather Service for the Community” in Chennai.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has urged developed countries not to neglect climate change as they tend to a global economic slowdown and called on rich nations to help poor countries prone to global warming.
Ban said Bangladesh had been at the forefront of disaster prevention and was a good example of how a vulnerable developing country can strengthen its resilience against catastrophic events such as super cyclone Sidr, which ravaged the south of the country on 15 November 2007, killing some 3 500 people and displacing some two million. Sidr came after floods that killed some 1 500 people and damaged about 2 million tonnes of food.
Ban was speaking at the end of a visit to Bangladesh.
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Houses destroyed by tropical storm Paloma in Santa Cruz del Sur Camaguey, Cuba Photo: Reuters |
Hurricane Paloma has caused destruction in Cuba, flooding coastal areas, uprooting trees, interrupting electricity and phone services, and forcing the evacuation of half a million people. Paloma is the 16th storm of the Atlantic storm season, the eighth hurricane and the fifth to hit Cuba. The storms have caused billions of dollars worth of damage, destroying thousands of homes.
Paloma has now weakened to a depression and is heading towards the Bahamas. It had earlier brought heavy rains and storm surges to the Cayman Islands and heavy rains to parts of Honduras and Nicaragua.
Weather presenters, meteorologists, journalists and experts in climate will meet in Brussels (Belgium) from 6 to 9 November 2008 for the 5th International Weather Forum, where they will discuss climate change mitigation and impacts and weather and the media. WMO will present the connections between climate, air quality and health and provide information about World Climate Conference-3 (Geneva, 31 August-4 September 2009) and how weather presenters can be actively involved.
Tropical Storm Maysak has developed in the South China Sea and is currently at about 500 km southwest of Manila, Philippines. It is forecast to move firstly west-northwestward then turning to southwestward with slight intensification within the next 24 hours.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Paloma is currently 150 km off Grand Cayman island in the Caribbean Sea. It is forecast to move slowly heading primarily northeastward with current intensity sustained for the next three days.
RSMC Tokyo Typhoon Centre and RSMC Miami Hurricane Centre have been closely monitoring the storms and providing guidance to the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in the respective regions.
For further information about severe weather, storm surge and related disaster preparedness advisories, please consult the National Weather Service of the countries concerned.
Severe Weather Information Centre
A follow-up to the successful OceanObs'99 Symposium will be held in Venice, Italy, from 21 to 25 September 2009.
The World Climate Research Programme, the Global Climate Observing System and the Global Ocean Observing System, all co-sponsored by WMO, have charged the organizers to help lay out a path for sustaining the benefits of ocean information and services in the coming decade.
For all further information, including contributions to the conference (draft agenda, white papers, lead authors), see: OceanObs’09
A ceremony to present the two Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Awards will take place in conjunction with TECO-2008 in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, on Thursday, 27 November 2008, starting at 17:45.
For more information about the Awards information, including this year’s winners, see: Professor Dr Vilho Väisälä Awards
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| Opening ceremony: the podium |
The Secretary-General opens the 13th session of the WMO Commission for Hydrology (CHy-XIII) today at WMO Headquarters. The Commission shapes WMO activities relating to water resources. The session runs until 12 November.
The Commission celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2009. To mark this event, the July issue of the WMO Bulletin focused on the theme “Hydrology for water management”. The online versions of this and the October issue of the Bulletin carry articles discussing the inclusion of hydrology in the mandate of the Organization (“Fifty years ago").
The agenda and all available documents are available via Meetings/Constituent bodies on the WMO Website.
The worst floods in more than 25 years, caused by persistent, heavy rains in northern and central Viet Nam, have killed some 49 people.
According to the National Centre for Hydrometeorological Forecasting, more rain is expected over the next few days, with potential flash floods and landslides.
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Qin Dahe was awarded the 53rd International Meteorological Organization Prize, WMO’s most prestigious prize, in the Great Hall of the People, Beijing, on 28 October. The award ceremony was attended by Chinese Vice Premier, Hui Liangyu; WMO President, Alexander Bedritsky; and WMO Secretary-General, Michel Jarraud.
Mr Qin served as the director of the China Meteorological Administration from 2003 to 2007. As a member of the 1989 International Trans-Antarctic Pole Expedition, he was the first Chinese ever to cross the South Pole.
A strong earthquake of 6.5 magnitude on Richter scale struck parts of southwestern Pakistan at 5.10 Pakistan standard time on 29 October 2008. The Pakistan Meteorological Department immediately initiated the provision of earthquake reports and weather information for affected areas through its Website.
At least 15 people were killed and some 300 injured by Tropical Storm Rasmi that battered southern Bangladesh with winds of up to 80 km/h, according to official reports. At least 10 fishing boats with 50 aboard are missing in the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh Meteorological Department weather forecast
The deep depression that started making landfall over Yemen on Friday and continued over the weekend took the lives of more than 70 people.
The Yemen Meteorological Service reported that two automatic weather stations in southeast of the country were completely washed out.
Through WMO, the Regional Specialized Meteorological Center (RSMC) for the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, based in New Delhi, is providing the Yemen Meteorological Service with RSMC advisories to assist their warning services.
The storm is now over. During the next 48 hours, seasonal rain is expected in the country due to the formation and northeastward movement of the East African Trough. These are seasonal rain events in Yemen and do not call for alarm.
The flooding and mudslides caused by heavy rains have claimed at least 23 lives in Honduras with eight other people missing, since last week, according to official reports.
Some 19 000 people have been evacuated from their homes, 24 000 houses destroyed and more than 30 000 hectares of crops damaged.
More rain is expected in the days to come.
National Meteorological Service of Honduras
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Mechanisms for adaptation to climate change are critical for sustainable agricultural production and stewardship of natural resources. Information on weather and climate is a key component of such adaptation strategies—helping farmers make decisions about the timing and types of crops, for example, and helping fishermen manage their stocks. National Meteorological and Hydrological Services provide critical weather and water information to the food sector and increasingly are providing climate services as well. WMO efforts aim to shore up food security in all regions, especially in developing countries, which are most vulnerable to climate change and facing increasing challenges to feed their populations.