23 Meteorological Stations Modernized in Yerevan and 6 Regions of Armenia

Today, a meeting-discussion took place at the Minister of Environment's office regarding the collaboration between the Hydro-Meteorological and Monitoring Center of the RA Ministry of Environment and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Participating in the meeting were Levon Azizyan, acting director of the Hydro-Meteorological and Monitoring Center, and Armen Chilingaryan, coordinator of disaster risk reduction programs at UNDP.

The program titled “Enhancing Armenia's Resilience to Climate Change through Modernization of Hydro-Meteorological Services” is being implemented by the Hydro-Meteorological and Monitoring Center and UNDP, with funding from the Government of the Russian Federation. The aim of the program is to improve climate change adaptation planning in Armenia by strengthening the capabilities of the national service for hydro-meteorological observation and warning, and enhancing Armenia's resilience to climate change risks.

As part of this program, the following activities have been implemented: 23 out of 47 operational meteorological stations in Armenia have been modernized through the installation of automatic meteorological stations in Yerevan and six provinces, including Shirak, Lori, Aragatsotn, Vayots Dzor, Armavir, and Ararat. An integrated climate data software platform, IMS CLDB, has also been introduced.

The Hydro-Meteorological and Monitoring Center's (HMC) components have been technically modernized and equipped. Three online courses aimed at familiarize staff with the system's capabilities and usage guidelines were conducted. To develop the HMC's capabilities, five state-of-the-art computers for GIS mapping, a MAVIC PRO 2 drone, and an RTK mapping digital system enabling data collection and processing regarding forest and water reservoir risks and GIS mapping have been provided. For ensuring the security of meteorological stations, web cameras have been supplied to the HMC. Additionally, a server and an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for data storage have been provided.

At the request of HMC, a study was conducted by a UNDP expert and a report was prepared on the topic “Comparative Analysis of Anti-Hail Systems for Implementation in Armenia.” During the study, more frequently used anti-hail systems were analyzed both worldwide and in Armenia, leading to recommendations for determining a more effective anti-hail protective system to shield the agricultural sector from hail impacts within Armenia.

During the meeting, Minister Romanos Petrusyan emphasized the importance of the UNDP-led program aimed at enhancing Armenia's resilience to climate change through modernization of hydro-meteorological services. The minister expressed hope that the program would be continuous and that its implementation would contribute to the modernization of the hydro-meteorological observation system.

Also presented at the meeting was a program being developed for the Khosrov Forest State Reserve titled “Implementation of a Forest Fire Management and Internal and External Alert Systems,” which would enable communication across the entire Khosrov territory through the installation of Low Range systemic stations. Simultaneously, the developed system would allow establishing a collaborative mechanism between the four main actors of forest fires: forestry, emergency services, municipal government, and community volunteers, and to test it with the aim of expanding it to other forest-adjacent communities in the future.