The capacity of the Hydromet Department to provide real time weather information across the country has been boosted with the installation of an automatic weather station (AWS) at the Boeraserie Conservancy in Region Three.
The weather station, the third of ten to be installed this year at remote areas across the country, is being funded by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC) based in Belize as part of that agency’s Integrated Observing Network within the Caribbean region. Similar weather stations have been unveiled at the Amerindian community of Moraikobai in the Mahaicony and at Orealla on the Corentyne River recently.
Speaking at a brief ceremony to mark the unveiling of the Boeraserie station yesterday afternoon, Executive Director of the CCCC Dr Kenrick Leslie told the small gathering that the equipment will improve the capacity of the local hydromet service. He said that while there is still some way to go with regards to the capability of the department, it must be recognised that because of the country’s vast topography, it would difficult to monitor the prevailing weather phenomena in all areas, unlike the small islands within the Caribbean.
Leslie said that the weather station will be able to monitor river flow, sediment holding and the prevailing weather conditions in the area. The equipment was described as an early warning system. The director said that the CCCC was able to secure under a European Union (EU) programme, an additional 10 weather stations which will be installed within the country next year. Each weather station costs some $6M, he said.
In his remarks, Scientific Adviser of the CCCCC, Ulric Trotz said that the umbrella body is delighted to start what he envisaged as the rehabilitation of the hydro-meteorological monitoring network here. He said that the event was the beginning of a programme which aims to provide CARICOM countries with the capacity to utilize hydromet parameters which are critical to the country.
Trotz said that in recent years, the importance of a functional hydromet division has been highlighted, especially with the emerging importance of climate change. He pointed out too that there is a need for upgrading of the local hydromet office. “I would hope that this input from the CCCCC into the local hydromet service inspire a commitment from the government to rehabilitate and rebuild a meteorological service to the standards that once prevailed way back in the 1960s and 1970s,” he said.
Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy told the gathering that the equipment’s unveiling signified the start of a move by the authorities to strengthen the hydromet department’s ability to monitor and provide weather information to the nation. He said that he has received calls from farmers questioning the lack of weather updates for their areas and according to him, this signifies that persons are becoming more conscious of the importance of weather information.
The minister said that the issue of climate change is one which does not involve politics and he declared that it remains one of the major barriers which economies across the world encounter, while progressing towards development.
