Makati switches on its 3rd local weather station

Makati City on Friday switched on its third weather monitoring station designed to provide accurate localized weather forecasts. The station is at San Lorenzo Barangay Hall and operated in partnership with the Manila Observatory of the Ateneo de Manila University. “(This) weather station can give localized rain forecast for the day and for the next 24 to 48 hours,” Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. said. He added that with the facility, Makati has “taken another step in harnessing technology to ensure the welfare and safety of our constituents.” Binay said the facility will complement the forecasts of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration. He cited as an example instances where other areas in Metro Manila may experience heavy rains and floods that may prompt suspension of classes, but Makati has only light showers. With the data from the local facility, local officials can make decisions suspending  classes in schools. The weather monitoring station at Barangay San Lorenzo is equipped with an integrated sensor suite that has a rain collector, temperature sensor, anemometer that measures wind speed and direction, and ultraviolet (UV) sensor. It also has a console that displays important weather indicators such as precipitation, barometric pressure, temperature, UV index, wind speed, wind direction and humidity. Four more stations Additional stations will be installed at Barangay San Antonio, Forbes Park and West Rembo, and the Ospital ng Makati within the year, Binay said. The first weather monitoring station in Makati was installed at the New Makati City Hall Building in March 2011. The second was installed at Barangay Poblacion in July 2011. The information gathered by the weather monitoring stations is available to the public at the weatherlink.com website. Categorized data will also be posted at the Makati Portal website in the near future. — ELR, GMA News