Accessing satellite weather by cellphone
South Africa’s Meraka Institute has been playing a big role in providing local information and customising for South and southern Africa a new technology demonstrator developed by the Space Science and Engineering group (SSEC) of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The system allows people to access satellite information on severe storms through their cellphones.
The Personal Digital Assistance Animated Weather System (PAW), which offers near real-time information on clouds, rainfall, wind and fires, will provide information on natural disasters such as the fast-moving and furious Cyclone Favio, which is believed to have left a trail of destruction in Madagascar.
Position and direction
Favio is reported to be moving towards the southern part of Mozambique and is expected to move towards the north eastern parts of South Africa. The new system will enable people to access information regarding the position and direction of the incoming tropical cyclone via their cellphones.
Philip Frost, senior researcher at the Remote Sensing Research Unit of the Meraka Institute, says the tool will provide near real-time information on weather phenomena.
“Our interest is to develop and distribute tools that can provide information to the general public,” says Frost, adding that people are not always at a computer. “Most people have cellphones, which will allow easy access.”
“This tool shows actual cloud movements, rainfall intensity and fire locations,” he says, adding that the University of Wisconsin-Madison should get credit for their dedication, innovation and willingness to share this technology.
Help during catastrophe
Says Kagiso Chikane, manager of the Meraka Institute, a national research centre managed by the Pretoria-based Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), “It is exciting to know that Meraka is doing this kind of research that could be of help to people who are facing a catastrophe like the situation in Mozambique today,” she says.
For more information on southern African cyclone tracking, go to www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/paw/eueu_soaf_clds_anim_none.html
For more information on South Africa storm and fire tracking, go to www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/paw/eueu_safr_clds_anim_none.html.
