By Ben Arnold O. De Vera, Reporter
To improve weather forecasting and accordingly prevent catastrophes like that caused by tropical storm Ondoy recently, Taiwan will help put up 15 weather stations all over the Philippines, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) said. “The Philippines and Taiwan pledged to pursue close technical cooperation in weather forecasting by putting up an early warning system for typhoons and other weather disturbances. This was agreed upon during their Second Joint Science and Technology Conference held September 16 in Manila,” Antonio Basilio, MECO resident representative, said in a statement.
Basilio said the two countries agreed to build and operate 15 automatic weather stations (AWS) here. He said this AWS network “will help generate better forecasts for weather disturbances approaching the
Philippine area of responsibility, an area that also includes Taiwan because of the close proximity of both nations to each other.”
Basilio said Taiwan will provide the 15 sets of hardware and peripherals, including computer workstations, data logger, data modem, solar power supply and their respective software, which will be used to construct the AWS. Taiwan will also train Filipino personnel who will be assigned to operate these AWS.
State-run Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa)—the country’s weather forecasting agency—will make available the suitable sites for the AWS, as well as designate the personnel who will man them.
Basilio said the installation of the 15 AWS will start as soon as possible, adding that the meteorological data generated by this equipment will be shared by both countries.
Basilio said the 15 AWS will cost P15.5 million, as the equipment are estimated to cost P13.5 million. For its part, Pagasa will spend about P2 million for the installation, operation and maintenance of these stations.
Basilio said Taiwan last year donated about P10-million worth of equipment to rehabilitate Pagasa’s Upper Air Weather Station in Tanay, Rizal, which had been destroyed by a typhoon.
“Taiwan and the Philippines must really cooperate more actively and deeply with each other in the area of weather forecasting. The AWS Project will be a major milestone in the collaboration of both countries to keep their people safer from the onslaught of typhoons and other weather disturbances,” the MECO official said.
Basilio and Donald Lee, Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) resident representative, signed this technical cooperation agreement, together with Secretary Estrella Alabastro of the Department of Science and Technology and Minister Lou-Chuang Lee of Taiwan’s National Science Council.
Source:
Taiwan extends weather equipment aid