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modified locally for both forecast upper winds and forecast
significant weather charts. After an initial period when these
products were delivered via fax systems, they are now deliv-
ered electronically to the airport computer network, from
which the briefing officers, aircrew and users can extract them.
This has significantly speeded up the process of production
and dissemination.
Climate change
As the Kingdom of Bahrain is an archipelago of 33 islands, the
effects of climate change will significantly impact the popula-
tion. Under normal climate conditions Bahrain has to mitigate
the natural affects of desertification and the long dry periods
experienced throughout the year. However, the extreme effects
of climate change need urgent attention if further damaging
effects such as a rise in sea level are to be allayed.
Comprehensive information and advice is necessary if chang-
ing climatological conditions are to be offset, and BMS has long
been aware of the need to provide an infrastructure for this.
Its newly extended climate section is conducting ongoing
research with highly qualified staff and has a number of
programmes in hand to this end.
During the past two years a completely new database
management system has been purchased and installed to
replace the old Climate Computing Project (CLICOM) system.
This new system has greater capabilities for the analysis and
presentation of statistical data, and has significantly extended
the scope for both research purposes and for commercial
exploitation.
Regional Association II (Asia)
The Assistant Under-Secretary for Meteorology, Abdulmajeed
Hussain Isa, has been the President of the WMO Regional
Association for Asia since 2001. This has been of great benefit
Practical assistance is given in many areas, not only in staff
training but also through the provision of equipment under
the auspices of the UNDP. The most notable example of this is
the UNDP Project (Bahrain) 1998, which provided for short
and long-term fellowships for staff, and the supply of vital
equipment to extend remote sensing capability through the
installation of automatic weather stations in and around the
Kingdom of Bahrain.
A number of senior staff were given short-term fellowships.
These entailed on-the-job training in many different countries
including the People’s Republic of China, Poland, South Korea,
Hong Kong and Egypt. This comprehensive training included
satellite meteorology, agricultural meteorology, marine meteo-
rology, remote sensing, environmental meteorology and radar
meteorology.
This type of training for senior and experienced staff proved
to be most beneficial. Feedback was very positive, and atten-
dees were subsequently able to train junior staff in their newly
acquired expertise.
Long-term fellowships awarded under the UNDP scheme
provided graduate courses for 13 members of staff, including
both junior and senior members. This part of the UNDP
scheme kick-started BMS’s long term plans to employ only
graduate staff, an initiative that is now close to completion.
After a stringent testing and interviewing process, the staff
selected for the programme successfully completed a BSc or
MSc degree in business and administration, computer science,
applied geography, physics, mathematics or meteorology. Most
courses were held at the University of Bahrain, but some staff
attended courses in the UK.
Participation in this scheme has raised the academic stan-
dards of BMS staff and, perhaps more importantly, has increased
enthusiasm among other staff for involvement in educational
schemes. Staff-strengthening schemes seem to have a ‘ripple
effect’, and this has certainly been the case for BMS. Junior
members of staff now demonstrate a desire to improve their
status and to undergo further training.
The effect of the training provided by the UNDP scheme, in
addition to the extensive ongoing programme of locally initi-
ated and funded training programmes, has raised the standard
of general competence. This is reflected in BMS’s services to
the military, civil aviation and marine activities (both commer-
cial and leisure), through a tremendous improvement in the
accuracy of our forecasts. The five-day forecast is now widely
promulgated and is the subject of very positive feedback, not
only from commercial users, but also from numerous govern-
ment departments and royal family members who have come
to rely on its content.
Improvements in the aviation sector
Great strides have been made over the past five to seven years
in the methods and distribution of aviation sector products.
Initially, all forecast upper wind charts were analysed by hand
with streamlines, copied, reduced and distributed by hand to
various users. Significant weather charts above FL200 inter-
nationally, and above FL100 regionally were also hand-drawn
with local modification, before being distributed in a similar
manner.
The introduction of the forecaster workstation system
dramatically altered methods of production. Charts received
through Meteorological Data Distribution (MDD) broadcasts
were produced automatically, though still with the facility to be
BMS Meteorological enclosure
Photo: BMS