Ghana meteo agency gets 10 automatic weather stations

The government of Ghana, on Friday, 15 February 2019 inaugurated ten installed automatic weather stations (AWS) for the Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) through the Ministry of Communication under its e-transform project.

The agency, until the installation of the 10 stations, had 22 synoptic ones, seven of which were not automatic. These seven have now been replaced with the automatic ones.

Speaking at the inauguration ceremony at the Tema District Meteo office where one of the AWSs was installed, the Minister of Communication, Mrs Ursula Owusu-Ekuful said the automation of GMet weather stations was part of the digitisation drive of the agency and the country as a whole.

The rest were installed at Big-Ada, Akuse, Sefwi-Bekwai, Axim, Akim-Oda, Abetifi, Tarkwa, Enchi and Akosombo.

The sites for the installation of the AWSs were strategically selected for maximum benefit to those particular communities and the country as a whole, said Mrs Owusu-Ekuful.

She said the government was “very much” concerned about the challenges GMet faces in carrying out its mandate, thus, the provision of $450,000.00 through the e-Transform Project sponsored by the World Bank – $350,000.00 of which was used to procure and install the ten AWSs for GMet – to help in analysing meteorological data.

The remaining $100,000.00 is budgeted for a two-year maintenance programme of the equipment.

“The benefits to be derived from these Automatic Weather Stations are enormous. Automatic weather observation allows converting measurements of meteorological elements into electrical signals through sensors, processing and transforming these signals into meteorological data, and transmitting the resulting information by wire or radio or automatically storing it on a recording medium. This instrument (AWS) is able to transmit data every 15 minutes and its data quality is very high and reliable, thus, improving data collection and eliminating, completely, human errors associated with conventional instruments,” the minister said.

She added: “Standardised observation techniques enable the homogenisation of observed data in regions where automatic weather observation is adopted across the globe. In addition, new observation elements can be added relatively easily by installing new instruments and sensors. Optimal measuring instruments with the appropriate level of measurement accuracy for the required observation can be chosen, and the need for observer training will be eliminated.”

The observed data collected, the minister noted, can now be transmitted into GMet’s database in real time. This will enable GMet to provide, promptly, accurate data to its numerous clients and stakeholders. Since there are no human interfaces with the data collection and transmission processes, human errors are eliminated, thus, making the data very reliable. Collecting and transmitting data in real time will enable GMet forecasters to issue prompt and accurate forecasts to the public and its clients.

GMet can now boast of 25 synoptic stations that can measure all the weather parameters needed for the agency’s operations.

Source: Ghana/ClassFMonline.com/91.3FM