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The innovative weather forecasting technique designed by the United Kingdom's Meteorological Office in Bracknell, near London, is aimed at preventing farming communities from losing vital crops each year. With access to effective weather forecasting, farmers will be able to plan the best time to plant and harvest their crops by avoiding heavy rain - which may wash away seedlings - or heavy winds that may damage a valuable crop just before harvesting. This will enable communities to have a better chance of providing sufficient food for their families and to sell more produce. Meteorologists in Africa can use the new equipment to prepare a simple weather forecast presentation, incorporating weather observation data that they have already collected and analysed. The TV presentation - on lower-cost television broadcast system which will supplement the existing radio and Internet services - can be as simple as a map with static graphics representing clouds, rain and sunshine or it can be more sophisticated with animations, for example, flashing lightning. The meteorologist will then record a voice-over commentary in regional languages and give the presentation to a broadcasting studio for transmission on TV. Although not all have access to a TV in their own home in Africa, most rural areas do have a public meeting place where the community will congregate to watch the daily weather forecast. Steve Palmer, the technical coordinator for the Meteorological (Met) Office, said: "The Met Office has been working to provide easy, affordable access to weather information to developing countries for some time, particularly with its involvement in the organisation called Ranet (short for radio and Internet for the communication of hydrological and climate-related information). "As part of our Ranet activities we have been providing forecasting equipment and online educational resources to African communities. We are delighted to be able to extend the support we give to meteorologists and communities in Africa by developing a lower-cost TV broadcast system to the existing radio and Internet services provided. We hope to be able to provide weather forecasting services to meet the needs of 10 African countries this year, compared with only three last year," he added. Ranet is a product of the African Centre for Meteorological Applications for Development Information about WorldSpace Foundation (Acmad), an organisation comprising 53 African member countries, with its offices at Niamey in Niger, West Africa, a meteorological hub for the continent. Acmad focuses on services for social and economic sectors, such as agriculture, water resources, public health and safety. It develops climatic and environmental products which benefit regional and national activities. The centre disseminates products on a regular basis to African countries for a continent-wide weather and climate watch, including early warning information and short-term and long-term forecasts. The UK Met Office has also developed a number of innovative projects including a braille weather chart for blind and partially sighted children, and an early warning system for forecasting increases in diseases based on a research collaboration with medical practitioner Dr William Bird. The system allows doctors to predict when hospitals will be over-run by new cases of heart attacks, accidents and infections. It is being pioneered by 30 hospitals in the UK and is set to go nationwide in November 2002. Source: London Press Service, web site at: http://www.london.press.net Published on 16th September, 2002
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Poor harvest and famine - the bane of African farming communities - are mostly the result of unpredictable weather. A new television weather forecasting and broadcasting system developed for use by meteorologists in Africa may help improve agricultural yields.
