[2020 National Audit] Accuracy of Precipitation Forecasts Declines... Serious Lack of Expertise Among Forecasters

Nowungrae "Education System and Work Environment Must Be Improved"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] On the 12th, Roh Woong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out at the National Assembly Environment and Labor Committee's National Audit of the Korea Meteorological Administration, "The reason why the accuracy of precipitation occurrence does not consistently improve but rather declines is due to the capabilities of the forecasters," and emphasized, "The education system and working environment need to be improved."

According to Roh's office, the accuracy of precipitation occurrence by the Korea Meteorological Administration has decreased from 92% in 2016 to 89.9% in 2020, increasing the probability of false forecasts over the past five years. Additionally, the average experience of forecasters shortened from 12 years and 7 months in 2016 to 10 years and 1 month in 2019. Compared to countries like the UK and Japan, South Korea has significantly fewer professional forecasters on staff.

Forecasting work amounts to 110% compared to regular duties and requires 24/7 work throughout the year, leading to serious avoidance issues. The forecaster education system involves only one person per team out of four teams participating in training, resulting in insufficient education.

Roh emphasized, "To strengthen forecasters' expertise and improve forecasting ability, the 12-hour rotating shifts and frequent rotation system must be drastically improved," and added, "It is desirable to increase teams so that education can be conducted within working hours like in Japan, or to form a separate education team like in the UK."

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