Helen Morrissey
The London Meteorological Office's attempts to publicise its work to an international audience were hampered by a break-in at Hall 4 on Saturday night.
Four computers were stolen from the Brit weathermen, who were nevertheless still hopeful last night that they would be replaced in time for today's influx of trade visitors.
"It's very frustrating, as we're eager to show people the work we do for the aviation industry," said Doug Johnson, manager of National Aviation Services.
The Met Office, as it is know, is one of only two ICAO-approved world area forecast centres (WAFC) capable of supplying weather forecasts to civil aircraft flying above 25,000ft. Responsibilities include providing aviation weather forecasts for pre-flight briefing of all international flights over Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australasia, Africa and the Atlantic.
However, because other national weather authorities circulate the information collated by the Met Office, many foreign pilots don¹t know much about the British organisation's work.
That could soon be put right by the launch of the Met Office's website, www.metoffice.com, which looks set to make it the world's largest provider of meteorological information.
As well as providing weather reports, the Met Office also provide information on clear-air turbulence and wake vortices, and it has the technology to detect the volcanic ash clouds that severely affect aircraft engines.
Source: Flight Daily News
