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easily receive meteorological information including observa-
tions, forecasts, warnings and advice via the Internet, SMS,
digital televisions in large buildings and public transport, and
electric street screens.
Mechanisms to establish standard and operational services
Categorized, standard and operational services are required in
megacities, along with the implimentations of the following
mechanisms into Meteorological Services.
Jointly developed and issued products
– To improve the effec-
tiveness of meteorological service information in the social and
economic decision-making procedure, SRMC has reached collab-
oration agreements with the agencies for agriculture,
transportation and health, energy and environmental protection.
Some decision assistance products have been jointly developed
and issued, such as ultraviolet index, pollen index, air pollution
index (API), heat wave index (HWI), water and energy control
forecasts and the medical weather index. For example, the HWI
has helped the Government to manage electric power produc-
tion and consumption to ensure energy security.
Push and pull mechanism
– SRMC sends forecasters to users
(e.g. ‘meteorological official in harbour’) to help them under-
stand and correctly use meteorological information.
Alternatively, some special users and some experts are invited
to help SRMC develop appropriate products and services (e.g.
‘veteran captain in meteorological office’). Volunteers are invited
to participate in weather observation, information dissemination
and forecast verification processes. SRMC collects users’ feed-
back from symposiums and surveys on Meteorological Services.
This interaction presents an effective way to bridge the gap
between SRMC and service users.
Categorized service based on the relationship with users
–
Point-to-point services are driven by users’ requirements – the
first point is SRMC, while the second point represents key
agencies and departments
• Point-to-line services are provided for key social activities,
where ‘line’ means that Meteorological Services should be
provided throughout the entire sequence of activities.
• In point-to-area services, ‘area’ designates the general
public. A point-to-area service is one in which public
Meteorological Services should cover the whole of society.
Further consideration
Rapid economic development, dense urban population and
increasing disaster vulnerability due to climate change has
brought new challenges to Meteorological Services in megacities.
Meteorological departments need to optimise their systems of
organization, their techniques, and their mechanisms in order to
meet the needs of human settlements and support sustainable
development in megacities. The fulcrum of this responsibility is
to fulfil the basic role of providing early warnings in order to
facilitate multi-hazard mitigation and emergency response.
Multi-hazard mitigation in megacities requires the central
integration of both BGU strategy and residential community-
centred strategy. Specialized meteorological service products
developed collaboratively present valuable approaches to
improve the decision-making process for social and economic
activities. The push-and-pull’ concept is valuable when consid-
ering the vital interaction between providers and users.
A better meteorological service means a better city, and thus
a better life for its populace. However, it is clear that much
needs to be done to attain such an aim.
accidents and public health. Under this committee, the joint
Shanghai Emergency Response Center (ERC) responds to
emergencies by providing first aid to local residents.
Multi-hazard integration
– This involves the integration of
multiple hazard information and information platforms. An
integrated GIS-based urban information platform in Shanghai
provides information on land type, infrastructure systems
(street network, drainage system etc.), emergency response
facilities and other associated data pertaining to city opera-
tions. The SRMC operational information system is a key
component of this platform. Weather observations, forecasts,
warnings and hazard assessment are disseminated to the poli-
cymakers, social and economic users, and the public.
Multi-phase response
– This represents the integration of moni-
toring, prediction and warning, preparedness, mitigation rescue
and assistance phases into one chain of disaster prevention and
mitigation (DPM). This is an embodiment of the ‘End-to-End-
to-End’ concept. Through the chain, information flows to related
government agencies and to the end user – in this case, the
public. In the initial period of DPM (monitoring, prediction and
warning phases), timely and accurate weather information facil-
itates the government’s quick and efficient response actions.
Weather information also supports other phases of the chain
(disaster preparedness, mitigation, rescue and assistance).
Grassroot experiences
Because of the highly concentrated population in megacities,
it is effective to provide Meteorological Services founded on
the basic management unit of the city. It is also very impor-
tant to build a residential community-centred strategy that
endorses public awareness, preparedness and the participa-
tion of response to disasters. The government should play an
important role in providing support to this strategy.
Basic Grid Unit (BGU) strategy
– In Shanghai, a BGU manage-
ment method is being used for in situ event handling and for
management in residential communities. The area of an average
BGU is approximately 10,000 square metres. All BGUs are moni-
tored and managed by supervisors, who are responsible for
collecting community information and sending it to the city and
district operations centre through the BGU network. According
to the information, the response centre will send commands to
related agencies and departments to deal with events in the BGU.
SRMC provides many products based on BGU management,
such as a GIS-based dynamic rainfall-runoff simulation system,
and a chemical accidents emergency response system.
Residential, community centred strategy
– Residents’ aware-
ness, preparedness and participation is very important for
disaster prevention and mitigation. Part of the community-
centred strategy involves Shanghai residents rehearsing annual
preparedness and multi-hazard mitigation exercises. For
example, on 23 March 2005, a rehearsal was held for a typhoon
warning issued by SRMC. In response to the warning level and
associated preparedness plans, the residents were able to take
relevant and effective action.
Seamless dissemination of information
Seamless dissemination of information is fundamental to the
Meteorological Services. For this reason it is vital that these
services are integrated within the city’s information system. In
Shanghai, through the public media and facilities, meteoro-
logical information can be dispersed throughout the entire city.
Whether on the road, at home or in the office, residents can