The first Coordination Meeting for SIGMET in Southeast Asia convened in Singapore at the end of March. The event, hosted by Meteorological Service Singapore, attracted representatives from the meteorological services of Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It offered an opportunity for aeronautical meteorological forecasters to come together and discuss issues related to SIGMET coordination.
Participants discussed extending coordination to include other phenomena such as tropical cyclones, volcanic ash, developing common guidelines for issuing thunderstorm alerts and methodologies for the evaluation of coordinated SIGMETs to assess performance. They analysed the possibility of extending SIGMET coordination in the region to include more Aeronautical Meteorological Services Providers.
As the volume of air traffic continues to grow, so will demand for more timely, accurate and harmonized meteorological information. There is need for better coordination to deliver seamless services and products to users. The coordination efforts in Southeast Asia are positive steps in the right direction.
