KMA Provides Weather Information 6 Times More Detailed... "Artificial Rain Enhancement" Experiment Continues

Commissioner Kim Jong-seok Announces Key Work Plans for This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The Korea Meteorological Administration's (KMA) forecasting service will become more detailed and comprehensive.

KMA Commissioner Kim Jong-seok announced the major work plans for this year on the 13th. The policy goal for this year is "an innovative weather service reform to enhance public safety and convenience in daily life." To this end, the KMA has already implemented the "Weather Alimi" application service, which allows users to receive real-time weather alerts via mobile based on their location. The KMA's weather information website, "Nalssinuri," has also been expanded and revamped to make earthquake information, along with weather data, easier to understand.

Ultra-short-term forecasts will be refined from 60-minute intervals to 10-minute intervals, making them six times more detailed, and neighborhood forecasts will be shortened from 3-hour to 1-hour intervals for greater detail. For example, in the case of ultra-short-term forecasts, if the previous information was "The rain currently falling will stop around 3 PM," it will now be more precise as "The rain currently falling will stop at 3:20 PM."

The criteria for heatwave warnings will be improved from considering only the highest temperature to including temperature, humidity, and other heat indices. Seoul, with its dense population, will have its warning zones subdivided into four areas. Additionally, impact forecasts aimed at reducing socio-economic damage will continue to be expanded and improved.

To quickly deliver earthquake information, a location-based push service will be implemented, and detailed earthquake analysis information will be provided for earthquakes of magnitude 3.5 or higher.

In the event of major weather disasters such as large-scale wildfires, advanced equipment such as satellites and drones will be rapidly deployed to provide customized observation and prediction information.

Meanwhile, based on a business agreement with the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), various future-oriented advanced technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) will be utilized. Experimental infrastructure such as meteorological aircraft and cloud physics experiment chambers will be actively used to carry out artificial rain enhancement projects to alleviate drought, and artificial rainfall experiments will be continuously promoted.

KMA Commissioner Kim Jong-seok said, "Weather affects all aspects of people's lives, from everyday life to responses to hazardous weather," and added, "We will continuously create innovative weather services that embrace the lives and safety of the public."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.