Automatic weather station commissioned in Region 5

The Agriculture Ministry, in support of the Hydromet Service, last Friday officially commissioned an automatic weather station at Copenam, Region Five.
This is the seventh such facility that has been built across the country, of a total of 10, and according to Agriculture Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, the goal is to move in the direction of having all weather stations automated in Guyana. The three others will be completed in 2013.
Speaking on Friday at the commissioning ceremony, Minister Ramsammy said while the country has more stations in every region, most of them are not automated, causing delays in relaying the much needed weather information to the Guyanese population.
Minister Ramsammy said the ministry has been working with international agencies and governments such as the United States, China, Australia and Israel to increase capacity among staff of the Hydromet Service. In this line, Minister Ramsammy urged that government and other agencies give first options for training in meteorological and other related services to employees of the Hydromet Service.
The minister also stated that the automatic weather stations and the Hydromet Service are important to the development of agriculture, which is dependent on the weather. Agriculture contributes about 25 per cent of Guyana’s Gross Domestic Product; therefore, if agriculture is adversely affected by the weather to a significant degree, the economy could be in trouble.
More accurate forecasts
The minister went on to mention that “in 2005 we lost 60 per cent of our economy, because we did not have the right weather and we saw the challenges this year when…during the supposed rainy season, we had dry season.” The technology of the automatic stations enables the Hydromet Service to more accurately predict the weather.
The commissioning of the weather station was to commemorate World Water Day and World Meteorological Day, the latter which was observed on March 23. To this end, Minister Ramsammy applauded the works of the Hydromet Service, saying that a good job in predicting the weather has been done.
In commemoration of World Water Day, the minister urged that farmers seek to ensure water used for agriculture is safe, as part of efforts to enforce the global regulation for food security and nutrition, pertinent to the traceability of agriculture production.