WMO supports InterMET Asia 2014

WMO supports InterMET Asia, Singapore 2 – 3 June, 2014     InterMET Asia welcomes the announcement by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) that it is supporting InterMET Asia 2014 and participating in the conference.   A senior WMO official will deliver an important keynote speech to the InterMET Asia audience, while WMO experts will present on the very latest developments with two flagship WMO projects – the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) and the Severe Weather Forecasting Demonstration Project (SWFDP).   InterMET Asia 2014, Singapore 2 – 3 June, is a FREE-TO-ATTEND conference & exhibition and will be Asia’s first ever event dedicated to meteorology technology and its applications across the private and public sectors.   InterMET Asia is one of the official co-located Events of the CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (CESS) 2014, which is organised and supported by the Singapore National Environment Agency. The 2nd CESS 2014 will be held in conjunction with the 6th International Water Week and the 4th World Cities Summit at the Sands Expo and Convention Center from 1 – 4 Jun 2014.   InterMET Asia is also supported by the World Bank and the Association of the Hydro-Meteorological Equipment Industry (HMEI).   Commenting on the WMO support for and participation in the event, Christian Blondin, Director, Cabinet of the Secretary-General and External Relations Department at the WMO, said: “We are delighted to support InterMET Asia which will highlight the growing role and value that meteorology and the national meteorological organisations have in mitigating and managing the financial and economic losses arising from increasingly frequent extreme weather events.”   InterMET Asia Project Director, Tony Stephenson said: “We’re delighted that the WMO are able to support this event and are working hard to ensure that the conference & exhibition are of the highest quality and relevance to weather-affected activities across the private and public sectors.”   Preparations for InterMET Asia 2014 are progressing well. The conference will feature leading experts from areas including international economic development, agriculture, transportation, building & construction, and urban planning. There will also be a special session covering the role of insurance in weather risk management. In addition, Dr David P Rogers, Consultant to the World Bank and President of the Health and Climate Foundation, will present on the important role of NMHSs in minimising and managing the economic, financial and social losses caused by extreme weather events.   In addition, technical specialists from the meteorological equipment industry will be giving a series of technical presentations on the latest developments and innovations in meteorological technology. NASA is also considering a presentation on the latest developments in space based meteorological platforms.   The current InterMET Asia 2014 conference programme is below.   The InterMET Asia exhibition is growing daily, with many of the leading providers of meteorology technology having booked or confirmed their presence at the show. Our Visitor Registration is now open and the response has been very encouraging, added to which our Hosted Delegate Programme is also underway, with the WMO helping our selection process for invitations.   Notes for Editors   1. InterMET Asia – www.intermet.asia – is the international FREE TO ATTEND exhibition & conference on the applications of weather, environmental and climate change measurement and analysis technologies in the Asia-Pacific region. Delegates can register now on the event website. The InterMET Asia newsblog is at: http://blog.intermet.asia   2. Contact for the WMO: Christian Blondin, Director, Cabinet of the Secretary-General and External Relations Department, World Meteorological Organization, Tel: +41 22 730 82 32, Email: cblondin@wmo.int   3. A top quality international conference will facilitate the interchange of knowledge and best practice between the Asian weather and climate change monitoring communities, their international counterparts, and end users in commerce, industry and government. The conference will feature two main themes: •    The technical aspects of the acquisition, analysis and communication of meteorological and environmental data; •    The current and potential applications of meteorological and related data across a broad range of commercial, governmental, and international activities, including the role of weather risk management insurance. To participate in the conference, contact Ian Harper, Conference Director for further information, Email: ian@mediageneration.co.uk or Tel: +44 (0) 7989 912186.   4. The exhibition will showcase a broad range of technologies related to the acquisition, monitoring, measurement, analysis and distribution of meteorological and related data relevant to a wide range of activities, from forecasting to use in commercial and government activities. It will also showcase value added data services tailored to the needs of a wide range of end users, including senior decision makers, and the insurance and risk management industry. For details on exhibiting at InterMET Asia, contact Saud Ghayas, Email: sales@intermet.asia or Tel: +44 121 244 3500.   5. The event will cover such end user applications as aviation, maritime transportation, ports/marine installation O&M, building & construction, defence/military operations, offshore oil & gas, mining, energy (including power generation and supply, energy efficiency), agriculture (including aquaculture, irrigation and food processing), urban planning, land use planning, water resource management, flood control, tourism, retail, as well as disaster management.   6. With two months to go we have companies from 11 countries (China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Russia, Singapore, The Netherlands, UK, USA) already participating in InterMET Asia exhibition. They include: All Weather Inc, Baron Services, Biral, a Chinese Pavilion, Earth Networks Inc, Furuno Electric Co Ltd, Gill Instruments Ltd, GRAW Radiosondes GmbH, International Met Systems, International Aeronavigation Systems, Kipp & Zonen, Laser Systems, LEMZ R&P Corp, Leosphere,  LSI Lastem Srl, Lufft Mess - Und Regeltechnik GmbH, MeteoModem, QinetiQ USA, Roshydromet, ROTRONIC AG, Sigma Space, Sonic Corporation, TechSense Solutions Sdn Bhd,  The Met Office, Weather Decision Technology (WDT), and Weather Underground.   InterMET Asia 2014 Conference Programme (at 25 March 2014) Day 1 – Monday 2 June 2014 Session 1 ~ Opening Plenary Session Introduction by Master of Ceremonies Welcome Address Plenary Keynote Address Senior spokesman for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) Keynote Address Senior spokesman for the Association of Hydro-Meteorological Equipment Industry (HMEI)   Session 2 ~ Presentations Applications of Meteorological, Hydrometeorological and Related Data.   The role of satellites in studying the Earth's global environment. By Dr Jack A Kaye, Associate Director for Research, Earth Science Division, NASA (TBC)   The applications of geo-spatial technology in monitoring agricultural drought and water management. By Dr R S Dwivedi, Group Director Land Resources (Retd.), National Remote Sensing Centre, ISRO   Increasing water scarcity due to changing climate – the risks and the opportunities for China and the SE Asia region. By IHS (Speaker TBA)   Weather and climate expertise for government policy; infrastructure planning, design and investment; and, operational effectiveness. By Rob Harrison, Regional Head - Southeast Asia, Met Office   Solar potential and energy meteorology – Weather forecasting in the context of solar energy production. By Dr Wilfred Walsh, Head of Solar Potential and Energy Meteorology Group, The Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore (SERIS)   Weather Risk Management – the role of insurance and insurance related products. By Julian Roberts, Executive Director - Agribusiness & Weather Risks at Willis (TBC)   The Willis Research Network. By Rowan Douglas, Chairman of Willis Research Network (TBC)   Session 3 ~ Presentations Technical Innovations and Developments in the acquisition, analysis and communication of Meteorological and Related Data.   New modelling and predictive capabilities to address key environmental concerns in Singapore. By IBM Singapore (TBC)   The wind tunnel is a test bed for the calibration of anemometers. By Martin Kratzenberg, Head of Sales, Westenberg Engineering, Germany   The system-wide overhaul and upgrading of the State of Brunei national weather infrastructure. By Rick Braswell, Director of International Business Development, Baron Services, United States   Further technical presentations To Be Announced.   Session 4 ~ Round Table/Panel Discussion: The techniques of weather risk management and the role and applications of insurance in weather risk management.   Led by Willis Insurance (TBC)   This panel discussion session will examine how insurance, appropriate risk management and weather risk tools (including futures contracts, reinsurance and weather derivatives) can help minimise and manage the risk posed by extreme weather events on activities such as agriculture, energy, mining, building & contraction, tourism, etc. Insurance, appropriate risk management and weather risk tools. This session will also examine investment risk – that is, the risk posed by weather related events to the share portfolios of institutional investors in particular.     Day 2 – Tuesday 3 June 2014 Session 5 ~ Presentations: Applications of Meteorological, Hydrometeorological and Related Data.   Weather and Climate Resilience: Effective Preparedness through National Meteorological and Hydrological Services. By Dr David P Rogers, Consultant to the World Bank and President of the Health and Climate Foundation   The Weather Philippines Foundation. By Sebastian Glink, Sector Manager Insurance, Retail, Construction & Emerging Markets, MeteoGroup   The importance of Climate Prediction on Agriculture – A Bangladesh experience. By Dr. Shaikh Tanveer Hossain, Sustainable Agriculture Advisor & Chief Agricultural Coordinator, Friends In Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB)   Storm modelling system as advanced tool in prediction and warning of severe weather risk. By Prof. Dr. Vlado Spiridonov, Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Ss Cyril and Methodius University-Skopje, Macedonia and former Director General of the Hydrometeorological Service of Macedonia   WOW! Delivering a smart cloud-based weather community – The Met Office's 'Weather Observations Website'. By the Met Office (spokesman TBA)   The WMO Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) project. By the WMO (spokesman TBA)   The WMO Severe Weather Forecasting Demonstration Project (SWFDP). By the WMO (spokesman TBA)   Session 6 ~ Round Table/Panel Discussion: Knowledge and training: What is required to ensure the effective specification, training, use and O&M of meteorology technology related to the acquisition, analysis and communication of meteorological and related data.   Discussion led by HMEI and WMO (TBC). Full details to be confirmed.   Session 7 ~ Round Table/Panel Discussion: The WMO Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), and the role of National Meteorological & Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in managing the financial, economic and social risks of extreme weather.   Discussion led by Dr David P Rogers, Consultant to the World Bank and President of the Health and Climate Foundation   This panel discussion session will examine the central role of NMHSs in making data available to those who need it when they need it to enable effective preparation to mitigate or help avert altogether the economic and social impact of extreme weather conditions. This session will also cover training, knowledge transfer, equipment specification, and ongoing O&M.   Session 8 ~ Presentations: Technical Innovations and Developments in the acquisition, analysis and communication of Meteorological and Related Data.   Weather Information Systems: the future is mobile measurements – the LUFFT MARWIS story. By Jimmy Soon, Business Development Manager – LUFFT ASIA G. LUFFT Mess und Regeltechnik GmbH, Germany.   Presentation by Weather Decision Technologies, United States Speaker and Topic TBA   Presentation by OTT Hydromet GmbH, Germany Speaker and Topic TBA   Further technical presentations To Be Announced.      NOTE: Programme subject to change