World Meteorological Organization Working together in weather, climate and water

1. World Meteorological OrganizationWorking together in weather, climate and water WMO CAeM-XIV Technical Conference SIGMET PROVISION Sue O’Rourke CAeM-XIV TECO – Hong Kong, China – 5 to 6 February 2010 www.wmo.int

2. SIGMET Provision – Definition WMO • SIGMET • Defined in ICAO Annex 3; • Information concerning the occurrence, or expected occurrence, of specified en-route weather phenomena which may affect the safety of aircraft operations; • Issued by the Meteorological Watch Office (MWO); • Phenomena include: • Thunderstorm with/without hail (obscured, embedded, frequent, squall); • Tropical cyclone; • Turbulence (severe); • Icing (severe and severe due to freezing rain); • Mountain wave (severe); • Duststorm or sandstorm (heavy); • Volcanic ash; • Radioactive cloud. CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 2

3. SIGMET Provision – Problems WMO • Problems • Lack of training or required competency; • Inadequate meteorological observation and/or guidance products; • No established MWO in some States; • Inconsistencies across Flight Information Region (FIR) boundaries due to lack of coordination between MWO; • Incorrect formatting; • Different interpretation of the SIGMET criteria between MWO; • Dissemination issues due to poor communications or incorrect addressing. CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 3

4. SIGMET Provision – Capacity Building WMO • Capacity Building • SIGMET Advisory Centres (VAAC & TCAC); • Issuance of SIGMET on behalf of another State under a bilateral arrangement; • Liaison visits; • SIGMET seminars; • Establishment of educational material, including SIGMET posters; • Regional SIGMET Guides; • SIGMET tests. CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 4

5. SIGMET Provision – Possible Solutions WMO • Bi-lateral Agreement • One State issues SIGMET on behalf of another State; • Arranged in conjunction with ICAO. • SIGMET Advisory Centres • Regional or global centres to issue SIGMET Advisories (similar to TCAC and VAAC); • States use Advisory as guidance to issue SIGMET. • SIGMET Centres • Regional or global centres to issue SIGMET. CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 5

6. SIGMET Provision – Issues WMO • Cost Recovery • Cost recovery is an issue for many States; • Equitable options for recovery of costs for regional or global centres needs resolving. • Data Access • Access to high resolution, local observational data such as radar, mesoscale AWOS networks, profilers etc, particularly for issuance of low-level SIGMET. CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 6

7. ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO • ICAO METWSG SIGMET Advisory Ad-hoc Group • Conduct a study to establish the viability of providing SIGMET advisory information to be issued by designated regional centre(s); • Similar to Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) and Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centres (TCACs). • Team • Co-Rapporteurs: • From Australia, Hong Kong China and France • Team • From UK, USA, IATA, IFALPA, Japan, New Zealand, China, WMO, South Africa and ICAO. CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 7

8. ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO • Tasks • Establish content and format of SIGMET Advisory; • Select regional centre(s) for feasibility study; • Propose arrangements for a trial to be conducted by one or two regional centre(s); • Establish training requirements. CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 8

9. ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO • SIGMET Advisory Format & Dissemination • Weather phenomena: • Thunderstorms (OBSC, EMBD, FRQ & SQL TS & TSGR) • Turbulence (SEV TURB) • Icing (SEV ICE & SEV ICE FZRA) • Mountain wave (MTW) • Validity period: • Up to 6 hours • Format: • Text (similar to current Advisories) and Graphic • Dissemination: • AFTN, Internet • Issue frequency: • Routinely (say every 3 hours) or as required CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 9

10. ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO SIGMET ADVISORY A1 DTG: 20091105/2200Z SAC: ASIA VALID: 052200/060400 FIR: VNSM/ZPKM PHENOMENON: SEV TURB OBS AT 2230Z LOCATION: WI N3000 E08500 – N2700 E08800 – N2700 E08500LEVEL: FL280/340MOVEMENT: MOV NW 40KTINTENSITY: WKN RMK: NIL NXT ADVISORY: 20091106/0100Z CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 10

11. ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO • Host State(s) for SIGMET Advisory Trial • Geographical area: • ICAO AFI and/or ASIA/PAC • Data sources: • Satellite imagery • Surface and upper air observations • NWP & WAFC products • Forecasting tools: • Real-time visualisation of data • Production of both textual and graphical SIGMET • Means of product dissemination • Cost recovery options: ?? • Host State(s): ?? CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 11

12. ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO • Training Requirements • Host State(s) & MWOs • WMO Meteorologist, Guidelines from WMO Doc 258 and Supplement 1 • Practical experience and proven competence in issuance of SIGMET in accordance with Annex 3 requirements • Regional ICAO SIGMET Guides • WMO ETP No. 20 – Aviation Hazards • COMET and WMO AeMP Training website • Host State(s) will also require a knowledge of meteorology outside their own FIR • Users CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 12

13. ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO • Trial Proposal • Length, hours of coverage and dates for trail(s) • Notification to users and affected States • Development of KPIs to assess impact • Assessment of value of advisory CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision Slide Number 13