Papua New Guinea can now monitor the weather more effectively following the launch of a new satellite receiving system.
The new upgraded system was launched by the National Weather Service (NWS) today in Port Moresby.
It is a powerful tool for tracking analysis of high quality accurate weather forecast in PNG.
Weather forecasters will be able to receive data faster in 10 minutes intervals unlike in the past when the old system provided data hourly.
The system was funded by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and receives its data via the Himawari 8 Satellite which is owned by Japan and used by countries in the Asia Pacific Region.
The satellite has a capability to focus down to 500 metres which means you can do vegetation or any current monitoring in the ocean.
It is beneficial to weather forecasters, seismographers and even environmental scientists to monitor the carbon changes in our forests.
It has a high resolution of 1 kilometre and can be able to track the volcanic ash in the atmosphere and fog on the ground which is very helpful to the aviation industry.
The system is supported by the Japanese Government and the United Nations Development Program.
NWS director Samuel Maiha thanked the Japan, UNDP and WMO for the support and said PNG should be proud that we have a new world class weather system used around the world.
He was pleased to see that with the new system, the satellite’s signal is stronger in PNG than in any other country.
PNG along with Fiji are the only two countries so far in the Pacific Islands that uses this system.