Vendors wait for customers in the flooded village of Athok, about 160 kilometres west of Yangon, last August. Pic: AFP

A FORUM was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Transport in Nay Pyi Taw on November 23 to help increase the accuracy of monsoon forecasts in upcoming years.

The forum was jointly organised by the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology and the Thailand-based Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC).

U Htun Lwin, the director general of the department, said two such forums were held every year, the first in April to present weather and river-level forecasts for the upcoming monsoon and to identify potential problems at demonstration sites in Myanmar’s central dry region and in delta and coastal areas.

The second forum, held each year after monsoon, is intended to determine the level of accuracy of the pre-season forecast and to seek input from participants on ways to increase the precision of future forecasts.

At last month’s forum representatives from central, delta and coastal areas shared their experiences concerning actual weather patterns during monsoon and how these compared with the forecasts that had been issued by the Department of Meteorology and Hydrology.

“Only after we have identified problems with forecasts and weather-related problems experienced in these regions during monsoon, can we develop management strategies to deal with them,” U Htun Lwin said.

He said such strategies must be developed as a cooperative effort among the stakeholders in various sectors affected by bad weather, with technical guidance and support from ADPC.

He said that with help from international agencies the department has been able to give increasingly accurate forecasts to the public via state television and radio, and has also been able to issue urgent severe weather warnings more quickly.