South African Weather Service Presentation to the Portfolio Committee

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South African Weather ServicePresentation to the
Portfolio Committee

• Presented by Bruce Tashe
• 5 September 2006

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SAWS Operational Areas
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To be a world-class meteorological organization
that contributes to the sustainable development
of South Africa and beyond our borders.
SAWS Vision
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SAWS Mission

• Our mission is to collect, process and provide
  meteorological data, products and services for
  the use of all South Africans and beyond our
  borders.

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SAWS Mission

• SAWS Mission will be achieved through
•     Excellence in forecasting processes
• Cutting edge technology
• Accessing the international observations
  networks
• Research and innovation aimed at improving
  and developing our products and services
• Facilitating co-operation with regard to
  observation networks

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Strategic Objectives
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High Level Structure
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1 The gradual increase in revenue is based on
the assumption that the Recapitalisation Plan
will be implemented gradually and that its
revenue enhancing spin-offs will also be
gradually realised.
2 This revenue growth is dependant on SAWS
carrying our the identified Market Surveys to
identify economically viable new services.
3 These figures are based on the assumption
that Treasury will approve the Recapitalisation
Plan.
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• Financial Results

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Projected Income Expenditure
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Cash Flow Summary
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Balance Sheet Data
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2006 Financial Results
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2006 Financial Results
AWS and Aviation 12.5
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2006 Financial Results
Note 2005 Reduction in Aviation income due to
tariff adjustments retrospectively
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2006 Financial Results
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2007 Quarter One Results
R million
Note Employee benefits vacancy and new posts,
budget spread.
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• First Quarterly Report
• 2006

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Corporate Governance

• Board Meetings
• EXCO
• Committees
• Commercial
• Finance
• HR Remuneration
• Programmes
• Risk Audit

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Internal BusinessProcess Perspective

• Internal Communication
• Breaking down of silos
• Promotion of dialogue between management
  structures
• Extended executive management committee
• Management Forum
• Forecasting Forum

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Internal Business Process Perspective

• External Stake Holders
• Collaboration with various national and
  international bodies
• World Meteorological Organization
• International Civil Aviation Organization
• National and Provincial Disaster Management
  Structures

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Internal Business Process Perspective

• Observation Platforms
• A Cam Camera was installed over the Outeniqua
  Mountains
• Automatic Weather Stations
• Automatic Rain Gauge Systems
• Hogen Hydrogen Generators
• Upper air sounding equipment
• Intermet Africa Systems
• Tellumat

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Internal Business Process Perspective

• Focused Research
• Hail detection and analysis
• Integrated rainfall information system
• Indigenous knowledge
• Flash flood warning system
• Establishment of a Research fund

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Information Communication Technology

• Improvement of forecasting workstations at all
  forecasting offices, by upgrading the PCGrids
  software to the new 32-bit version.
• Purchased an NEC Super computer which facilitates
  the implementation of the UK Met Unified model

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Customer Perspective

• Issued invitations to bid for
• Marketing Strategy
• Media strategy

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Community Outreach

• To increase our drive to educate learners,
  educators and members of the general public about
  weather, SAWS participated in the following
  community outreach programmes
• Bring a girl child to work campaign
• Science Week exhibitions in Phalaborwa and
  Secunda
• SASOL science festival

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Community Outreach

• The Grahamstown Science festival and career
  exhibition
• Hosting of over 240 learners by Bethlehem
  Weather Office during the local Science Expo
• Scheduled visits on an ongoing basis by
  university students and schools to the Cape
  Town GAW Laboratory.

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• Modernisation Plan

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Introduction

• A significant number of people in South Africa
  are living in areas vulnerable to extreme weather
  events.
• Timely, quality,understandable, value-added and
  interpreted information is essential for sound
  decision making.
• Modern infrastructure is required to provide the
  data on which weather warning service are based.

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ASGISA

• The construction of roads, housing, schools,
  clinics, sports facilities, water supply are all
  weather sensitive activities.
• Weather conditions can and will influence the
  building and improvement of the 10 stadiums that
  will be used during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
• Of particular importance is that although only 4
  of all flights in the world are over Africa, 28
  of all accidents occur over this continent.

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2010 FIFA World Cup

• Accurate and reliable weather forecasts and
  warnings of severe and changing weather
  conditions for the fixtures at different stadiums
  will be of prime importance.

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Socio Economic Benefits

• The SAWS helps to
• Increase food security by providing timely
  advice to farmers on likely climate and weather
  conditions.
• Protect lives and property by providing real-
  time information to water resource managers for
  flood control activities.
• Mitigate or minimize threats posed by
  desertification, ozone layer depletion, acid
  rain, air pollution and climate change.

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Saving lives

• SAWS helps to
• According to Newspaper reports more that 500
  people died from 2000 to 2005 in South Africa of
  weather related causes.
• Improve the safety and efficiency of traveling by
  air land and sea.
• Save lives and property by providing risk
  management information for disaster management.
• In a flash flood in 1995 near Pietermaritzburg,
  173 people were killed.

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Weather Related Natural Disasters
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Job Creation

• Up to 60 of all production losses in the
  agricultural sector are weather related.
• Agriculture alone consumes 50 of the countrys
  water resources including for irrigation as
  production is constrained by uneven spatial and
  temporal distribution of rainfall.

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Radar network

• The weather radar network systems will be renewed
  with more sophisticated systems that are
  available in the market.
• These systems will provide
• Improved rainfall estimates
• Detect the transition between rain and snow

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Radar network

• Track storm movements and intensity more
  accurately
• Allow earlier detection of precursors of
  severe weather development such as tornados,
  severe thunderstorms, large hail etc.
• Information on microbursts and wind shear

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Weather Radar Network
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Aviation Weather Service
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Lightning Detection Network (LDN)

• A lightning detection network, consisting of 19
  lightning sensors was deployed.
• There are roughly 2000 thunderstorms in progress
  around the world at any one time, producing about
  30 to 100 cloud-to-ground flashes each second or
  about five million flashes a day.

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Lightning Detection System
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Benefits of LDN

• According to newspaper reports at least 40
  persons died in 2005 due to lightning.
• Lightning related insured-claims damage can be as
  high as R 500 million per annum.

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Conclusion

• Early warnings of impending disasters and their
  effective dissemination are key factors to
  successful disaster prevention, mitigation and
  preparedness.
• Adequate, integrated weather observation networks
  are essential for all high quality weather
  forecasts and warnings.
• Linked to climate change, weather-related
  disasters in Southern Africa are increasing at an
  alarming rate due to increases in the
  vulnerability of all our people.

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Questions and Clarities !!!

• Thank You