By Lito Dar
LA TRINIDAD, Benguet-- In line with the government’s effort in intensifying its Disaster Risk Reduction and Management effort by ensuring accurate weather monitoring in the country, the Department of Science and Technology, through the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration is now working on the deployment of Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) nationwide.
DOST Assistant Secretary Robert Dizon bared this during his visit here last week for the 2011 Regional S & T Fair and Invention Contest cum Exhibit at the Benguet State University.
The AWS, designed and developed by the Advanced Science and Technology Institute of DOST, is a modern weather tracking device that is part of the government’s effort to establish and maintain a nationwide environmental monitoring network.
According to Dizon, the AWS will play a critical role in hazard mitigation in the country as the equipment can help save lives and properties particularly during typhoons and floods.
For Cordillera, DOST Regional Director Ben Ladilad said that an AWS is already installed in the provincial capitol of Abra in the capital town of Bangued.
Ladilad also said the DOST is also now in the process of installing Automatic Rain Gauges in the different provinces of the region.
The ARG, which was also developed by DOST-ASTI, can gather data which it can automatically send or transmit to other weather stations or to a central based station.
The ARGs were designed to be rugged and stand alone. The ARG stations can also be deployed even in remote areas and can operate continuously on solar power backed-up by an internal rechargeable battery.
Meantime, Dizon also cited importance of proper weather monitoring in the country, DOST also provides (manual) rain gauges to different schools in the country, which aims to teach young children on how to measure rain volume during in a particular rainy or typhoon day, which is an essential knowledge on disaster risk reduction management.
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