Aeronautical Meteorology Programme

Documentation

Commission for Aeronautical Meteorology (CAeM)

CAeM Structure

CAeM Education and Training

CAeM circular letters

As of today, 13 November 2009, we are well underway in the preparations for our next Commission meeting to be held in February 2010.  This event will be kindly hosted by the Hong Kong Observatory in Hong Kong, China.  As usual, the Observatory has prepared an amazing programme, with excellent facilities, very reasonable hotel rates and a local programme for delegates and spouses that I am sure will be interesting and enjoyable.  All details, including hotel registration information, are available on the meeting website www.14.caem.wmo.int

For the first time in the Commission’s history, we have selected several documents to appear in a draft format on an electronic forum (e-forum).  The idea is to allow initial discussions on the documents and to have Members debate on areas of concern.  E-forum documents can be accessed from the above website and will remain open for comment until 3 December.  A login ID and password are required and the instructions for receiving these have been sent to Permanent Representatives with WMO.  The authors of these documents will engage in the on-line discussion and then prepare a final document for distribution.

All documents will become available over the next month and a half on the normal ftp web site (ftp://ftp.wmo.int/Documents/SESSIONS/CAeM-XIV/). We expect that all the documents prepared by the Secretariat and Commission to be available by December 18.  Members’ papers may appear a little later.

A preliminary annotated agenda is nearing completion and should be on the ftp website shortly. 

As part of CAeM-XIV, there will be an embedded Technical Conference (TECO) held for a half day on 5February and all day 6 February 2010.  This conference will have three main areas of discussion:  Ensuring the Quality of Aeronautical MET; Imminent Developments in Aeronautical MET in the Terminal Area; and Imminent Developments in Aeronautical MET in Regionalized MET Service Provision. The discussion format will allow attendees to comment on these evolving areas and assist the Commission in planning its work programme.

Aeronautical Meteorology is evolving rapidly.  Our users are demanding an increased level of assurance regarding the quality of our products.  There is a strong desire for all meteorological service providers to become certified under a system such as ISO 9001.  The issuance of SIGMETS has been flagged as a deficiency is some regions at some times.  The need for establishing clear standards to be able to demonstrate that an aeronautical meteorologist or observer has the education and training needed has never been more urgent.  Finally, the requirement for new products and innovative presentation methods to serve the Air Traffic Management community is being increasingly demanded.

These items and others will be the focus our debates in Hong Kong.

I look forward to seeing many of you there.

Carr McLeod