EUMETSAT conferentie
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Ladies and gentlemen,
Reliable weather forecasting is vital for the Netherlands. Heavy rain causes flooding. Hail storms damage property. And thunderstorms can even hurt people. In the Netherlands, we are able to prevent many of the worst effects of extreme weather, thanks to timely and accurate warnings from the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute, the KNMI. To do its work, however, the KNMI needs advanced satellites and good working relations with other countries.
So far this year, the KNMI has issued four weather alerts – for heavy snow, gales, and thunderstorms. One weather alert was combined with a traffic alert, because a heavy gale was expected to cause serious problems on the roads. The purpose of a traffic alert is to inform road users in good time about the weather situation and expected conditions. By issuing traffic alerts, the KNMI makes our roads safer and limits disruption to traffic.
Of course, we Dutch are not the only ones to benefit from such warnings. Last year, an internet site – www.meteoalarm.eu – was launched to inform travellers throughout Europe about dangerous weather conditions. The site carries up-to-date information in simple, summary form about dangerous and extreme weather in many European countries. Meteoalarm is an initiative of EUMETNET, the Network of European Meteorological Services.
To forecast extreme weather conditions, the KNMI uses the EUMETSAT satellites. These satellites are the work horses of the European meteorological services. The METOP-A satellite, launched last year, plays an important role. These ‘watchdogs in space’ enable us to protect ourselves against possible disasters caused by extreme weather.
Unfortunately, the future has more extreme weather in store. I’m sure you are all aware that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published a report earlier this year stating in no uncertain terms that the climate is changing due to human activities.
For a low-lying country like the Netherlands, this means a higher risk of flooding. After all, the sea level is rising, while the rivers need to deal with greater volumes of water. The floods that hit the southwest of England last July showed how serious the social impact can be.
You may remember that we had similar problems in the Netherlands in the 1990s. And you may even know that the flooding disaster of 1953 is etched into the Dutch collective memory. That disaster killed almost two thousand people and made more than seventy two thousand homeless.
We learn how and why the climate is changing by continuously observing the climate system. Our observations are recorded on land, on the sea, in the air – and even from space. They often reveal very subtle climate changes, changes so slight they can only be captured with consistently high quality measurements, made over many years.
Take the slow rise of the sea level. Tide gauge measurements started in 1870, and accurate satellite measurements started in 1993. Together they have shown that the sea level worldwide is rising by an average of around three millimetres per year. It is rising because the oceans are warming and expanding and because glaciers and ice caps are melting.
With the launch of Jason-2 next year, the continuity of these satellite measurements will be secured for the coming years, thanks to the efforts of EUMETSAT, France and our American colleagues at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
A key issue facing us is how best to organise climate observation. How do we ensure that we can continue to observe all the critical climate parameters? How do we ensure that our measurements remain of consistently high quality, that they will continue to be made, and that they are available for research?
Fortunately, there are several international organisations dedicated to asking these questions and seeking solutions. Take the Group for Earth Observation, or GEO, a powerful political lobby that uses earth observation to highlight global issues like climate change. I am sure that many of you are closely involved with this international initiative.
Strongly linked to GEO is the European Programme for Global Monitoring of Environment and Security, which is currently setting up information services and whose first satellites are being built by the European Space Agency.
Air quality is a subject that is closely tied to the weather and is an issue of real concern in the Netherlands. Measurements of the worldwide distribution of nitrogen dioxide present a sobering picture of air pollution. These measurements are partly recorded by Sciamachy, the Dutch imaging spectrometer, and OMI, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument, which are two satellite instruments with a large Dutch involvement. Many of my countrymen closely studied the alarming red spots above the Benelux and northern Italy without realising that they were recorded by instruments produced here.
The view from space provides a planetary perspective and complements observations recorded on land. Our national meteorological institute, the KNMI, is especially active in this area. The KNMI has pioneered work on the Ozone Monitoring Instrument and is closely involved in several European projects and programmes, such as the Global Monitoring of Environment and Security I already mentioned.
Our country wants to maintain its leading position. The Netherlands wants to safeguard the continuity of the measurements of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument and Sciamachy by deploying TROPOMI, which may succeed these two instruments. So we are taking the initiative, with a view to getting this satellite instrument operational by 2012. Of course, while the Netherlands is willing to take on this role, we are still seeking international cooperation.
Ladies and gentlemen,
When it comes to the weather, the climate, and oceanography, the KNMI serves Dutch interests around the world. It contributes to international research, projects and cooperative ventures, not only to protect the Netherlands from the impact of climate change, but also to help other countries defend themselves. Weather and climate transcend national borders, and the Netherlands realises that international cooperation in these areas is essential.
We need each other. Fortunately, Europe, the United States, and many other countries and organisations have been sharing their satellite measurements for many years. They are also happy to share experiences and learn from each other. This is evident from the fact that this conference has been organised together with the United States – which I welcome enormously.
This conference is an excellent example of how we can cooperate internationally on satellite observations of weather, climate, and oceanography. I hope that you will learn a great deal from each other this week.
Thank you.