World Meteorological Organization Working together in weather, climate and water CAeM-XIV Technical Conference SIGMET PROVISION Sue O’Rourke WMO CAeM-XIV TECO – Hong Kong, China – 5 to 6 February 2010

Slide Number 2CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision SIGMET Provision – Definition WMO SIGMET Defined in ICAO Annex 3; Information concerning the occurrence, or expected occurrence, of specified en-route weather phenomena which may affect the safety of aircraft operations; Issued by the Meteorological Watch Office (MWO); Phenomena include: Thunderstorm with/without hail (obscured, embedded, frequent, squall); Tropical cyclone; Turbulence (severe); Icing (severe and severe due to freezing rain); Mountain wave (severe); Duststorm or sandstorm (heavy); Volcanic ash; Radioactive cloud.

Slide Number 3CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision SIGMET Provision – Problems WMO Problems Lack of training or required competency; Inadequate meteorological observation and/or guidance products; No established MWO in some States; Inconsistencies across Flight Information Region (FIR) boundaries due to lack of coordination between MWO; Incorrect formatting; Different interpretation of the SIGMET criteria between MWO; Dissemination issues due to poor communications or incorrect addressing.

Slide Number 4CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision SIGMET Provision – Capacity Building WMO Capacity Building SIGMET Advisory Centres (VAAC & TCAC); Issuance of SIGMET on behalf of another State under a bilateral arrangement; Liaison visits; SIGMET seminars; Establishment of educational material, including SIGMET posters; Regional SIGMET Guides; SIGMET tests.

Slide Number 5CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision SIGMET Provision – Possible Solutions WMO Bi-lateral Agreement One State issues SIGMET on behalf of another State; Arranged in conjunction with ICAO. SIGMET Advisory Centres Regional or global centres to issue SIGMET Advisories (similar to TCAC and VAAC); States use Advisory as guidance to issue SIGMET. SIGMET Centres Regional or global centres to issue SIGMET.

Slide Number 6CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision SIGMET Provision – Issues WMO Cost Recovery Cost recovery is an issue for many States; Equitable options for recovery of costs for regional or global centres needs resolving. Data Access Access to high resolution, local observational data such as radar, mesoscale AWOS networks, profilers etc, particularly for issuance of low-level SIGMET.

Slide Number 7CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO Team Co-Rapporteurs: From Australia, Hong Kong China and France Team From UK, USA, IATA, IFALPA, Japan, New Zealand, China, WMO, South Africa and ICAO. ICAO METWSG SIGMET Advisory Ad-hoc Group Conduct a study to establish the viability of providing SIGMET advisory information to be issued by designated regional centre(s); Similar to Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) and Tropical Cyclone Advisory Centres (TCACs).

Slide Number 8CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO Tasks A.Establish content and format of SIGMET Advisory; B.Select regional centre(s) for feasibility study; C.Propose arrangements for a trial to be conducted by one or two regional centre(s); D.Establish training requirements.

Slide Number 9CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO SIGMET Advisory Format & Dissemination Weather phenomena: Thunderstorms (OBSC, EMBD, FRQ & SQL TS & TSGR) Turbulence (SEV TURB) Icing (SEV ICE & SEV ICE FZRA) Mountain wave (MTW) Validity period: Up to 6 hours Format: Text (similar to current Advisories) and Graphic Dissemination: AFTN, Internet Issue frequency: Routinely (say every 3 hours) or as required

Slide Number 10CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO SIGMET ADVISORY A1 DTG: /2200Z SAC:ASIA VALID:052200/ FIR:VNSM/ZPKM PHENOMENON:SEV TURB OBS AT 2230Z LOCATION:WI N3000 E08500 – N2700 E08800 – N2700 E08500 LEVEL:FL280/340 MOVEMENT:MOV NW 40KT INTENSITY:WKN RMK:NIL NXT ADVISORY: /0100Z

Slide Number 11CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO Host State(s) for SIGMET Advisory Trial Geographical area: ICAO AFI and/or ASIA/PAC Data sources: Satellite imagery Surface and upper air observations NWP & WAFC products Forecasting tools: Real-time visualisation of data Production of both textual and graphical SIGMET Means of product dissemination Cost recovery options: ?? Host State(s): ??

Slide Number 12CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO Training Requirements Host State(s) & MWOs WMO Meteorologist, Guidelines from WMO Doc 258 and Supplement 1 Practical experience and proven competence in issuance of SIGMET in accordance with Annex 3 requirements Regional ICAO SIGMET Guides WMO ETP No. 20 – Aviation Hazards COMET and WMO AeMP Training website Host State(s) will also require a knowledge of meteorology outside their own FIR Users

Slide Number 13CAeM XIV TECO – SIGMET Provision ICAO - SIGMET Advisory Ad Hoc Group WMO Trial Proposal Length, hours of coverage and dates for trail(s) Notification to users and affected States Development of KPIs to assess impact Assessment of value of advisory