06 June 2023, Port Vila - Four engineers from the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-hazards Department’s (VMGD) Information and Communication Technologies and engineering division travelled to Aotearoa New Zealand last month to attend a training course in installing and managing automated weather stations.
The course was presented by New Zealand’s National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in Christchurch with funding support from the Climate Information Services for Resilient Development Planning (CISRDP) project. The main topics were installing and managing new automated weather station (AWS) equipment, including how AWS capture, transmit and process weather and climate data.
“The training course is part of capacity development provided by CISRDP project to support VMGD address capacity gaps which limit the effective delivery of weather and climate services needed to support the protection of life, property and the environment” said Mr Sunny Seuseu, Acting Manager, CISRDP Project, SPREP.
Automated weather stations (AWS) are the core monitoring equipment used by VMGD to record data about Vanuatu's weather and climate in near real-time. They measure and record observations of weather phenomena such as air temperature, wind speed and direction, rainfall, humidity, solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, soil temperature and moisture, and leaf wetness and transmit this data back to VMGD.
VMGD maintains a network of 15 AWS throughout the country to allow VMGD's team of forecasters to make accurate predictions about Vanuatu’s weather and climate. The CISRDP project has donated an additional 16 AWS to strengthen the Vanuatu climate observations network. These are located in Loh and Sola in Torba Province, Pekoa International Airport (x2), VARTC and Naplontafo in Sanma Province; Norsup and Lamap in Malampa Province; Longana and Lonorore in Penama Province; Nambatu, Port Vila International Airport and Epau in Shefa Province, as well as Whitegrass Airport and Anelgowhat in Tafea Province.
AWS transmit the data they record via cellular or satellite to VMGD in Port Vila, where it is added to computer climate models to help make VMGD’s short, medium and long-term climate predictions as accurate as possible.
Accurate weather and climate data is only possible with precise equipment, says course attendee Jino Moli from VMGD's ICT (Information and Communications Technology) and Engineering Division. He says the VMGD team spent part of the training on sensor calibration, working with precisely calibrated reference instruments that allowed them to compare AWS sensor readings. This taught them how to judge whether AWS sensors are giving correct readings.
In his day-to-day role at VMGD as an ICT engineer, Jino is tasked with maintaining the national AWS network. He says NIWA’s training was important because “AWS systems are always changing, so we need technical training to keep up with new technologies.”
Mr Moli says the main lesson he has brought back from the training course is the value of “proper maintenance planning, of having proper workshop and testing facilities and store rooms for spare parts, and proper budget planning for maintenance.”
The CISRDP locally known as the Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong Redy, Adapt mo Protekt (VanKIRAP) Project supports climate-resilient development in Vanuatu by equipping decision-makers, communities, and individuals in Vanuatu with the climate information services (CIS) they need to respond to climate variability and change. Target audiences are the agriculture, fisheries, tourism, infrastructure and water sectors, and the public. The Project is housed at the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geohazards Department (VMGD), and jointly managed by VMGD and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). New Zealand’s National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) is a VanKIRAP delivery partner.
For more information, please contact Mr Sunny Kamuta Seuseu, VanKIRAP Acting Manager, at [email protected].