Amid controversy over ‘spy balloons’, WMO highlights key role of weather balloons in climate monitoring
Following recent reports of Canada and the United States shooting down a number of flying objects, including a Chinese ‘spy airship’, inside their borders, WMO shows that weather balloons provide only a very small part millions of observations are collected all over the world daily.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden made a public comment after days of speculation about three drone objects shot down by the US military last weekend, saying they were “most likely related to the US military”. relating to private companies, entertainment or research organisations”.
Valuable input to the global system
More than 50 satellites collect information from space and about 400 aircraft operated by about 40 commercial aircraft companies collect data from the sky, WMO noted.
Approximately 400 mooring buoys, 1,250 drift buoys and 7,300 support vessels from the sea along with 10,000 automated and land-based observation stations around the planet.
A weather ball is prepared for release at a station in the Australian Antarctic.
1,000 flights per day
Every day, free pus increases Balloons are released simultaneously from nearly 900 locations worldwide. Nearly 1,000 balloons collect observations daily to provide real-time input.
The valuable information collected contributes to the creation of computer-based forecasting models, local data for meteorologists to make. storm forecast and forecast, climate monitoring And data for research to better understand the weather and climate processes.
WMO says computer forecast models use weather balloon data used by all forecasters around the world.
Equipped with battery-powered radio probes to record observations, the floating information-gathering devices will stay airborne for about two hours.
Up to 35 km high
Surname Measure pressure, wind speed, temperature and humidity from just above ground, to an altitude of up to 35 km, maintaining temperatures as cold as -95°C (-139°F), before exploding and falling back to Earth under a parachute.
play one important role as part of the world’s global observation network For decades, they have been the main source of data on the ground. More than two-thirds of the balloon stations make observations twice a day, and another 100 and 200 report daily.
Their Valuable input gives Global Observation SystemWMO says this is one of the most successful and ambitious international cooperation cases in the past 60 years.
This system includes individual surface and space observation systems owned and operated by a variety of national and international agencies.
