Belize is one of the first countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to launch the Systematic Observations Financing Facility, an initiative led by the world meteorological organization and the UNDP.
It's a system that shares weather and climate data with a global network to enhance early warning systems and climate services.
To be a part of that, Belize will upgrade its weather station in Punta Gorda. We gathered more details at the launch:
Henry Charles Usher, Minister of NEMO
"(SOFF) is a facility, will allow us to better train our officers, build capacity, but also invest in equipment needed to be able to have accurate, timely data for weather. And it's very critical when it comes. We're approaching hurricane season now. All of these initiatives should be in place, well, for next year. But the idea is to allow Belize to be a part of the global network of weather data sharing. We are actually the first in the region, in Latin America and the Caribbean to be able to lead the way with SOFF."
Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist
"So the whole objective or one of the main objectives of the systematic observations financing facility which we shall call SOF from now on is to ensure that all across the globe there is an adequate coverage of weather observations. Let me break it down now, the numerical weather prediction modules that people rely on that produce weather forecasts and tell you where the hurricane is going, those modules need to have data for them to produce a forecast. They can run without the data but the forecast is going to be erroneous, hugely erroneous. If you don't know where you are now then you don't know where you are going and that's what weather observations are, what you have now putting it into a module and the module does its thing and gives you the future so for these things to work, global modules means you have to have coverage globally right there cannot be any breaks because where there is a break there will be errors so now we are ensuring countries across the world including Belize are contributing into that network. Previously we had one station, the one here at the MET service was doing that and even so we had limitations with that, with this project we are going to have 2 stations. We are going to enhance the station here plus we are going to have a station in Punta Gorda which we currently have as well but that station is going to be equipped and fit to the standard that it can transmit data globally."
Through this program, the National Meteorological Service of Belize will benefit from grant funding totaling 1.5million Belize dollars through the IDB.
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