By Mohamed Attia
The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) is undergoing a major transformation under the leadership of Major General Hisham Tahoun, based on instructions from Minister of Civil Aviation Mohamed Abbas Helmy.
The EMA has established a direct line between its early warning centre and the cabinet to speed up the sending of warnings, alerts and weather reports, especially in cases of atmospheric instability. The authority has also appointed contact points from qualified meteorologists in each of the provinces prone to bad weather for direct and accurate monitoring with the officials there 24/7.
The EMA has also created a mobile app for weather forecasts to reach a wider base of users and recipients of early warning services.
In terms of projects implemented by the EMA to improve quality and develop infrastructure, three weather radars have been installed in Hurghada, Matrouh and Qantara East. This is a major national project that aims to improve the accuracy and speed of forecasts for rain, floods and dust storms, which the country is increasingly exposed to, especially during the autumn and winter (for rain and floods) and the spring (for dust storms).
The EMA has also completed the installation of a supercomputer, which will increase its computing power and lead to increased accuracy and speed in the flow, analysis and extraction of weather data for the benefit of civil aviation, various state sectors and the implementation of studies required in the field of climate change in Egypt.
The EMA has also implemented a project to develop and automate its work systems, including its observation system, data preparation system and maintenance and calibration system, through a co-operation protocol with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. The authority is also implementing a project to develop a smartphone app to provide its services to citizens.
The EMA has also implemented the national project to prepare an interactive map of climate change in the Arab Republic of Egypt until 2100 to support decision-makers in their sustainable development plans.
The EMA has also upgraded and developed the horizontal visibility system on the three runways at Cairo International Airport to ensure the safety of air traffic at the airport.
Five meteorological stations have also been upgraded to increase and improve the amount of information and accuracy of weather warnings. A number of rest areas attached to meteorological stations have also been upgraded to improve working conditions.
The EMA has also installed air pollution monitors to increase information related to air quality and its relationship to atmospheric elements. Solar radiation measuring devices have also been installed to serve national projects related to clean and renewable energy.
In terms of keeping pace with modern international management systems, the EMA has obtained quality certificates from the National Council for Education and Training, including ISO 29993/2017 for the design of training programmes in accordance with international standards and principles and ISO 29994/2021 for distance education and training services.
The EMA has also renewed its ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, ISO 45001:2018 and ISO 21001:2018 quality management system certificates for the Regional Training Centre in Cairo.
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