DPFS_Manual_Appendix-I-5
ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE PROVISION OF METEOROLOGICAL ASSISTANCE TO UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS
Provision of forecasts from a remote RSMC is not an ideal arrangement and the quality of the forecasts can be expected to be reduced accordingly. The service provided should be accepted on the terms of a best effort basis and recognized as such by UN/OCHA.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN/OCHA) shall normally request a service from a National Meteorological Centre (NMC) of the National Meteorological Service of the country concerned. If the NMC is not operational, this fact shall be confirmed to the associated RSMC with geographical specialization when requesting a service. UN/OCHA shall also specify details of the area or location for which the service is required. The NMCs or RSMCs usually provide the products to the UN/OCHA Headquarters operation centre. The RSMCs zones of responsibility are as specified in the annex to this appendix.
The NMC shall:
Upon receipt of a request from UN/OCHA, provide to it or its designated recipient location, basic meteorological and climate information and forecasts. The products to be provided will be negotiated with UN/OCHA, but could consist of 72-hour public weather forecasts, severe weather advisories and warnings, longer-range outlooks, and may include climate information for specified areas or locations in support of humanitarian missions.
The WMO Secretariat shall:
(a) Upon request, from UN/OCHA, arrange guidance in the interpretation of specialized meteorological information and products made available by NMCs or RSMCs;
(b) Establish and maintain up-to-date NMCs operational contact points for assistance to United Nations humanitarian missions and make these available to UN/OCHA and RSMCs;
(c) Establish and maintain up-to-date RSMCs contact points and their backups.
The RSMC with geographical specialization and its backup for the relevant zone of responsibility shall:
(a) Upon receipt of a request from UN/OCHA with confirmation that the relevant NMC of the National Meteorological Service of a Member facing an emergency or in catastrophic distress and out of service, provide to UN/OCHA, basic meteorological and climate information and forecasts. The products to be provided will be negotiated with UN/OCHA, but could consist of 72-hour public weather forecasts, severe weather advisories and warnings, and longer-range outlook and may include climate information for specified areas or locations in support of humanitarian missions;
(b) For an ongoing requirement, determine in consultation with UN/OCHA the relevant set of climate information, basic forecasts, their format and methods of delivery, location of delivery, depending on the nature of the situation.
Provision of forecasts from a remote RSMC is not an ideal arrangement and the quality of the forecasts can be expected to be reduced accordingly. The service provided should be accepted on the terms of a best effort basis and recognized as such by UN/OCHA.
ANNEX
ZONES OF RESPONSIBILITY OF RSMCs FOR PROVIDING BACKUP SERVICES TO UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN MISSIONS
| RSMC | ZONE OF RESPONSIBILITY |
| REGION I Algiers Cairo Dakar Nairobi Pretoria |
Algeria; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Tunisia Egypt; Sudan Benin; Burkina Faso; Cape Verde; Cameroon; Chad; Central African Republic; Congo; Côte d’Ivoire; Democratic Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Liberia; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Niger; Nigeria; Sao Tome and Principe; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Togo; Ascension Islands; Spain (Canary Islands); St Helena; Portugal (Madeira); Western Sahara Burundi; Djibouti; Ethiopia; Kenya; Rwanda; Somalia; Uganda; United Republic of Tanzania Angola; Comoros; Botswana; Kerguelen and New Amsterdam; Lesotho; Madagascar; Malawi; Mauritius; Mozambique; Namibia; France (Department of La Réunion); Seychelles; South Africa; Swaziland; Zimbabwe; Zambia |
| REGION II Beijing Jeddah Khabarovsk New Delhi Novosibirsk Tashkent Tokyo |
China; Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; Hong Kong, China; Macao, China; Viet Nam Bahrain; Kuwait; Oman; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates; Yemen Russian Federation (in RA II) Bangladesh; Bhutan; India; Maldives; Nepal; Pakistan; Sri Lanka Mongolia; Russian Federation Afghanistan; Iran (Islamic Republic of); Iraq; Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan; Tajikistan; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan Cambodia; Japan; Lao People’s Democratic Republic; Myanmar; Philippines; Thailand; Republic of Korea |
| REGION III Brasilia Buenos Aires |
Brazil; Colombia; Ecuador; France (Department of French Guiana); Suriname; Venezuela (BoliviarianRepublic of) Argentina; Bolivia (PlurinationalState of); Chile; Paraguay; Peru; Uruguay |
| REGION IV Washingtom Miami |
Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; British Caribbean Territories; Canada; Colombia; Costa Rica; Cuba; Dominica; Dominican Republic; France (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Saint Pierre and Miquelon); Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Mexico; Netherlands Antilles; Nicaragua; Panama; Saint Lucia; Trinidad and Tobago; United States of America; Venezuela (Boliviarian Republic of) El Salvador |
| REGION V Melbourne Darwin Wellington |
Australia Brunei Darussalam; Indonesia; Malaysia; Papua New Guinea; Singapore; Solomon Islands Cook Islands; Fiji; French Polynesia; Kiribati; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Niue; Pitcairn; Tokelau; Tonga; Tuvalu; Vanuatu; Wallis and Futuna; Western Samoa |
| REGION VI Exeter Moscow Offenbach Rome |
Gibraltar; Denmark (Greenland); Iceland; Ireland; Netherlands; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Albania; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Cyprus; Georgia; Jordan; Montenegro; Poland; Romania; Republic of Moldova; Russian Federation (in RA VI); Serbia; Ukraine Austria; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Czech Republic; Croatia; Denmark; Estonia; the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia; Germany; Hungary; Israel; Finland; France; Latvia; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Norway; Portugal; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland Greece; Italy; Lebanon; Malta; SyrianArabRepublic; Turkey |