50 weather stations to come up in Qatar

Speaking to Gulf Times at the recently-concluded Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition (Dimdex 2016), officials from the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority's Meteorology (Met) department described how state-of-the-art technology was being used to improve forecasting and other operations.

The officials were present at the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) pavilion at Dimdex, which was being held at the Qatar National Convention Centre, to explain the initiatives made by the department to boost its different operations, such as weather observation, forecasting, issuance of early warnings and functioning of weather stations across the country.

Abdulla al-Mannai, who took over as the new director of the Met Department recently, was also present to brief the visitors on the achievements of the authority. Al-Mannai headed the forecasting and analysis section at the department earlier.

The Met Department's mobile van, equipped with advanced facilities to make hourly weather forecasts, detects sudden changes in wind directions, unstable sea conditions and chances of dust formation across the country and the region, was parked at the pavilion.

Two of the officials, Abdulazeez Ahmed al-Jaber and Mohamed Ali al-Qubaisi - young Qatari professionals who graduated from Qatar Aeronautical College - explained how the portable weather station exhibited at the pavilion helped forecasters in performing their duties.

The portable weather station, imported from South Korea, can provide weather forecasts for up to 72 hours and can be especially helpful during emergencies, said al-Jaber.

"Usually, it is operated from places where there are no facilities to forecast weather," he said, adding that the Met Department was working out plans to set up over 50 weather stations in the country over the next two years.

Currently, the country has around 10 active weather stations.

With the effective use of C-band technology, the department hopes to cover weather conditions in the entire Gulf region shortly, explained al-Jaber. This is also expected to help in making long-range weather forecasts.

To help familiarise the country's young generation with the functioning of the Met Department, the mobile van travels to schools at regular intervals.

"With facilities such as the ones found in the mobile van, we are able to educate schoolchildren about the activities of the department," said al-Qubaisi.

The department has already set up a number of seismic sensors in locations across the country. These will allow the department to alert people about the possibility of earthquakes.