By: Amar Persaud
Contrary to popular belief, the Hydrometeorological Office in Guyana says it does not have an issue with inaccurate weather forecasts but rather, the problem seems to lie in delayed communication.
To address this issue, the agency is looking into the possibility of developing an app to ensure the public gets timely updates on weather forecasts.
This is according to Chief Hydrometeorological Officer at the Hydromet Office Dr. Garvin Cummings, during an exclusive interview with INews on Wednesday last.
“The hydromet service is actually actively examining the possibility of developing a Guyanese weather App that will really enhance our communication. We have to also to strengthen our PR unit to ensure that we can be in constant communication with the Guyanese people, because weather does not sleep…we got to be out there 24/7,” he explained.
“So, it perhaps the call for an entire reconfiguration of the organisation, looking at what we want to do and how we can reconfigure to be able to meet those objectives. But a weather App is on the card for Hydromet, given all resources permitted,” he added.
Expanding on his vision for the App, Dr Cummings said, “I rather suspect that it will not be much different from what you get from anywhere else…the temperatures, the forecasted rainfall, making it regional specific or as local as possible…so, you’d want to talk about temperatures, humidity, rainfall amount, cloud cover and all the information that one can actually pack into that sort of thing.”
“We would also want to give an outlook for the next five days…We would like to have it, so you can have access to satellite imagery, access to our radar and perhaps some neighboring countries radar,” he further revealed.
The Chief Hydromet Officer said the goal is to get the app developed and up and running within the next two years.
“A weather App is different because you have to consistently and continuously update it with new information which will not be the same for some other services that might be less dynamic…getting the App is the first step, being able to maintain that App over a period of time where we could have the buy-in and we can have the confidence to use it that will take some time,’ he reasoned.
Equipment
Meanwhile, the Chief Hydromet Officer revealed that the entity has commenced an exercise that will see the installation of automated weather stations across the country. These facilities will be able to deliver weather readings in near real-time, which can also be a crucial contributor to the App if developed.
“So, we’re investing a lot in automated weather stations which allow for automatic recording of weather variables and for that data to be transferred to us in near real-time at hydromet so that we can use,” he explained.
Dr Cummings noted that the traditional methods of determining the weather require manual data collection.
“The technology that we have, some of it, it’s really mixed at this time especially with respect to rainfall, because when we talk about weather in Guyana, we talk about rain and sun…We have a very strong observational network with respect to rainfall but most of it is manual which means somebody has to go out there every morning at 8 ‘o’clock and read the rain gauge and record that data and find a way to transmit it here to us in Georgetown,” he explained.
“I don’t think we’ll ever give up on the manual stations but we’re going to augment them with automated stations,” Dr Cummings further noted.
Moreover, he highlighted that the Hydromet Office is expanding its network of these automated weather stations which will be placed throughout Guyana but will take some time to acquire the adequate amount due to its cost.
One of the said automated weather station is valued at G$7M and this excludes the cost of installation and maintenance. Currently, over 40 of these weather stations are operational around Guyana.
“So, it is costly exercise but it is one that we have to take, as the world is moving in that direction,” he added.
