Setting up and Managing Automatic Weather Stations for Remote Sites Monitoring: From Niger to Nepal

Surface weather observations are widely expanding for multiple reasons: availability of new technologies, enhanced data transmission features, transition from manual to automatic equipment, early warning for critical climate risks. One of the main objective is to rehabilitate/increase the density of existing network, by providing data from new sites and from sites that are difficult to access and inhospitable. Despite the increasing number of AWS's deployed, many remote sites are still not covered by surface observations. The goal is to improve AWS network planning, especially in regions where the scarcity of local trained personnel and funding availability to manage the instrumentation are relevant issues. Some consultancies performed in the past aimed to support, remotely and/or locally, National weather services, Public agencies, Local authorities and International organizations in defining and evaluating AWS's siting and selection. The efficacy of the results mainly depends on the accurate choice of the sites of installation (network plan), on the correct selection and description of instrumentation type to prepare the international tenders, on the training process to improve the AWS's management efficiency. The present chapter would discuss some of the main issues arisen from the experience gained during the institutional activities and consultancies in international projects.