23 March – World Meteorological Day

23 марта 2012 года

M. Genin

This year’s World Meteorological Day theme is “Powering our future with weather, climate and water”. The Altaiskiy Biosphere Reserve extends sincere congratulations to its colleagues on this occasion and wishes them all the best and a nice weather!

The history of the World Meteorological Day dates back to 1950 when the Convention of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was ratified. The motto of the event was "Weather, climate and water in the information era."  In Russia the official start to the system of hydro-meteorological monitoring was given by the decree of Emperor Nicholas I, a development that has continued right up to the present day, with Roshydromet (Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring) providing Russia’s hydrometeorological safety.

First regular meteorological observations were launched at Lake Teletskoye in 1919. In 1931 the first  meteorological station appeared in Yailu settlement. In 1994 it was transformed into the complex environmental monitoring station.

September 2011 witnessed the launch of the Onset weather station in the Altaiskiy Biosphere Reserve and the installation of temperature and humidity data loggers at four levels of Kyginskiy elevation. The Altaiskiy Reserve received the meteorological equipment within the UNDP/GEF project – “Biodiversity Conservation in the Russian Portion of the Altai-Sayan Ecoregion”.

The launch of  a weather station in Yazula cordon in 2012, as well as studies of permafrost-related processes in Dzhulukul depression and studies of upper forest limit in the upper reaches of the Kozhlon river* will mark the next steps taken by the Reserve in this direction.

Kseniya Veselovskaya

* source: the Department of Science of the Altaiskiy Reserve