Singapore’s National Environment Agency (NEA) and Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) have signed a strategic relationship arrangement (SRA) for a multi-year collaboration program on weather and climate research in the Maritime Continent – the tropical region between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including the archipelagos of Indonesia, Borneo and the Philippines. The project will have a particular focus on the impact in Singapore and the wider Southeast Asian and Indo-Pacific regions.
Under the SRA, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS), under NEA and BoM, will undertake research in areas such as very-short-range weather forecasting for the next 1-2 hours (nowcasting) using advanced weather radar data, seasonal prediction and the analysis of regional climate projections data.
These research initiatives will contribute to improved prediction of heavy rainfall in Singapore, improved guidance on emerging seasonal climate trends in the region, such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), as well as an enhanced understanding of future regional climate change through the sharing and development of novel climate data analysis tools.
The outcomes of the joint research will help MSS, and BoM, deliver enhanced forecast and warning services for decision-making, and guide climate change adaptation plans.
Luke Goh, CEO of NEA, said, “NEA is glad to work with Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, and other world-class partners to better understand the unique tropical weather phenomena in our region. This partnership with the Bureau announced today (December 6) will improve our understanding and prediction of tropical weather and climate for Southeast Asia and enhance Singapore’s weather and climate services.”
Dr Andrew Johnson, the Bureau’s CEO and director of meteorology, said, “The Bureau has a close working relationship with MSS, and we are looking to further strengthening our collaboration by strategically uplifting forecasting capabilities and weather knowledge across the tropics, as well as work focusing on tropical processes and improved radar nowcasting. This collaboration will benefit Singapore and Australia as well as our global partners, as we improve capabilities. Further opportunities will also be explored as this partnership grows and supports the four key objectives which underpin the Bureau’s decadal Research and Development Plan.”
The new bilateral SRA builds on existing collaborations, including the multilateral Unified Model Partnership, of which MSS and the Bureau are already core members, which plans and develops capabilities of one of the world’s leading weather and climate modeling systems. This adoption of a common modeling system for research, forecasting operations and regional climate projections provides a firm basis for advancing the collaboration between MSS and the Bureau.