An International Experience – Attending the Aviation Seminar in Oman

On 5-9 July, Miss Ng Shuk-kiu, Senior Experimental Officer of the Hong Kong Observatory, attended the "Aviation Seminar" co-organized by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UK Met Office (UKMO). The seminar was previously held in UK but since last year, it was conducted in different regions to facilitate participation of developing countries. This year, the Seminar was held in Muscat, the capital of Oman in the Middle East, and was hosted by the Oman Meteorological Department (OMD).

There were 27 participants from 18 countries. The Seminar discussed meteorological factors impacting flight and airport operations including turbulence, icing, thunderstorms, low visibility, sandstorms, etc, as well as the respective forecasting techniques. The advances in aviation meteorology applications and the development of the World Area Forecast System (WAFS) were also introduced. In addition, experts from the UKMO and WMO explained to the participants the future requirements of aviation weather services via real-time connection on the Internet.

Miss Ng expressed that the Seminar benefited her a lot in her aviation weather forecasting work. Apart from the theory classes, the Seminar also offered her an excellent opportunity to understand better the application of forecasting tools through group discussions and practices.