Changi Meteorological Trip

In conjunction with the Maths week, the Maths department organised a field trip for 33 NYJcians to the Changi Meteorological Station. We entered the premises, which was located one floor above Terminal Two of Changi Airport.

Being under the jurisdiction of the National Environmental Agency (NEA), the area was naturally a restricted zone.

The programme began with a brief introduction to the world of Meteorology in Singapore. Meteorology is often perceived to be a boring job; collect data, feed them to a supercomputer to make a forecast, send it to the media and slack till the next day.

In reality, meteorologists shoulder a huge responsibility as they supply data to the media, airline companies, rescue efforts, and haze combat operations. Airplanes, for instance, cannot take off without detailed information of current and forecasted weather patterns along the journey.

Meteorologists also spend a lot of time in the field refining their weather prediction skills. They regularly go for courses and international attachments to further their exposure to weather patterns around the world. With climate change becoming a hot topic among international politicians, the need for people to monitor these changes grows. Who says weather forecasting is a dead profession?

To get as much information as possible from local sources, the NEA has deployed more than a hundred sensors and devices scattered around the island.

All these automated sensors require no human intervention. All data collected is sent to the NEA for processing.

Want to know what it is like to be a meteorologist? Day in day out, you would have to collect instrumental data, interpret data from international sources and make forecasts using complex mathematical algorithms! A science or engineering-based degree is preferred. Meteorologists are expected to work on shifts. (As for the pay... Who cares when there is passion!)

After the talk, we went on a tour around their data processing facilities.

Fast computers are at their disposal to crunch all that data.

We also visited the satellite room where data from international satellites is received as they pass over Singapore.

The left workstation is monitoring the status of the Chinese-made Fengyun 1D while the right is downloading local images from US-built NOAA 16 satellite. (Click to view larger image.)

It’s fortunate that most meteorological stations around the globe share their space assets and information regardless of political differences. All these are conducted without additional costs to each other. All they need is prior permission (which is usually granted) for a license. After all, weather prediction will be more accurate if you have more information.

At the end of the day, everyone walked out of Changi airport more enlightened regarding the field of meteorology. Perhaps meteorology isn’t the most glamorous, thrilling or best paying of jobs. But remember: behind every successfully-planned outdoor event, is a team of unsung heroes otherwise known as meteorologists.

By Yeo Kheng Meng and Wan Ying Yi