Govt promises better weather reports

Guyanese citizens are expected to receive more accurate, timely weather reports from the Hydro-meteorological Services Department of the Agriculture Ministry, as it has now been boosted with 21 Automatic Weather Stations (AWSs) to enhance its existing framework. These weather stations, together with site preparation and installation costs totalling US7,000, were donated under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Climate Change Adaptation Programme (CCAP) and was facilitated by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC).
The US$26 million USAID CCAP is designed to strengthen an integrated system for the implementation and financing of sustainable adaptation approaches in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean region. This initiative builds on both the USAID/ESC’s Caribbean Regional Development Cooperative Strategy and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to a Changing Climate.
In keeping with the investments planned under the programme, one such activity is the provision of the AWSs to enhance the existing network within Guyana and the wider region. Under a CCCCC commissioner study conducted by the Caribbean Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) in early 2017, Guyana became the beneficiary of the weather stations. The total cost of the stations is US$215,000, with site preparation and installation costs amounting to approximately US$42,000, a total investment of US$257,000.
Maxine Nestor, Procurement Officer of the CCCCC, is quoted by the Department of Public Information as saying that weather stations will see greater benefits for the country, particularly for fisher folk, farmers and other persons who are dependent on accurate weather information.