Physical work has commenced today on the Maldives' sixth weather observatory being built in N. Maafaru.
The Ministry of Environment stated on the government website that the Maldives Meteorological Service (Met Office) and Island Aviation have commenced joint efforts to provide aviation meteorological services at Maafaru International Airport.
Under this agreement, the physical work to install the necessary meteorological equipment at the newly established Met Office or observation station at Maafaru Airport has also begun today, the ministry said.
The Environment Ministry stated that the main objective of this work is to reliably provide the meteorological information and reports required to ensure aviation safety, in accordance with civil aviation regulations and standards.
Citing the Met Office, the ministry stated that the work commenced today is an important step toward making the meteorological observations required for airport operations. Furthermore, the Met Office noted that the system currently being established is scheduled to be further developed and finalized in the future under the "Systematic Observations Financing Facility" project.
The ministry stated that with the construction of this observatory, the meteorological system at Maafaru Airport will align with the UN's World Meteorological Organization (WMO) "Global Basic Observing Network" standards, paving the way to provide international-standard services.
A project was launched last year to upgrade several weather observation stations in the Maldives to the standards of the Global Basic Observing Network under the Systematic Observations Financing Facility, which was jointly established by the United Nations Multi-Partner Trust Fund (UNMPTF) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
This project, carried out in collaboration with the Met Office and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is a four-year initiative.
Under this project, it has been decided to improve the quality of the meteorological equipment installed at the four existing Met Offices or observatories in the Maldives, and to construct an additional Met Office in Maafaru.
The Maldives' weather observatories are currently located in Hulhule, Hdh. Hanimaadhoo, L. Kadhdhoo, Gdh. Kaadedhdhoo, and Addu Gan. In addition, automated weather stations are located in 20 islands across the Maldives, and tide stations to monitor sea levels are located in Hanimaadhoo, Hulhule, and Addu Gan.
The project also includes repairing and restarting the upper-atmosphere weather data collection system (radiosonde) located in Addu Gan.
