The United Nations warned today that new technologies could seriously jeopardize the radio frequencies essential to weather observations and to monitoring the planet Earth.
Weather radar, wind profile radar, radiosondes, lightning detection networks, aeronautical and maritime observations, and hydrological monitoring systems all depend on access to specific frequencies that must not be disrupted.
Some sensors measure natural signals at specific frequencies, which makes protecting the system against harmful interference particularly important, the UN warned.
The growing use of frequencies by other radiocommunication services—including wireless communications and satellite services—has increased the risk of interference that can affect the frequency bands dedicated to meteorological observation systems.
The warning was issued today by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
According to the agencies, radio-frequency interference can, in fact, degrade measurements, reduce the quality or availability of data and, consequently, compromise the reliability of forecasts and alerts.
Experts will meet this week in Geneva to analyze the dangers, with the two UN agencies already urging governments and regulatory authorities to preserve access to the frequencies essential for meteorology, which are protected by the ITU’s Radio Regulations.
“Preventing harmful radio-frequency interference is a matter of public safety and can save lives,” said Doreen Bogdan-Martin, the Secretary-General of ITU.
Interference-free frequencies enable “the accuracy of weather forecasts, the timely dissemination of alerts, emergency warnings, and the reliability of climate data — so that populations can prepare,” she stressed.
ITU sets the international framework for the use of the radio-frequency spectrum, but it is up to states and national authorities to manage and authorize the use of frequencies within their respective territories.
The WMO Secretary-General, Celeste Saulo, said that the radio-frequency spectrum is a finite natural resource and added that meteorology depends on specific bands because of the physical properties of the atmosphere itself and “allow observations that no other frequency can provide.”
“These bands (frequencies) need to be protected. Protecting the frequencies that allow us to observe the atmosphere means protecting the weather forecasts and the early warning systems that each country depends on,” she emphasized.
