New weather surveillance tech for Hwedza
• Never will we be caught by surprise again
Brian Rungano Temba
The Meteorological Services Department has installed a state-of-the-art weather system at the Hwedza Meteorological station 12 as part of the new dispensation’s efforts to improve weather surveillance systems.
The development is part of the emergency response preparedness against increasingly severe and frequent climate change-related weather patterns.
The station has been fitted with a fully automated SINET weather surveillance system capable of reading in real-time.
Also in the station is a RM YOUNG wind sentry set capable of calculating wind speed and direction, a visala temperature & RH probe (tempreture), a KIPP & ZONEN smart pyranometre (solar radiation), Texas 8″ Syphon Raingauge with 0.2mm Tip (rain intensity and volume), Visala digital Barometric Pressure Sensor (air pressure).
The SINET system can record and disseminate 5 sets of data simultaneously in real-time to a central server in Harare, which relays the data to the World Meteorological Organisation.
The introduction of newer weather systems will enhance improved weather surveillance. For Zimbabwe ,changing weather patterns continue to pose environmental hazards , loss of life and damage to property.
Catastrophic events like Cyclone Idai will be detected before they cause damage and loss of lives, thereby allowing timely evacuation protocols.
Recent Comments