Jamaica to get new weather radar

The Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) and the World Bank have signed a contract for the design, supply and installation of a new S-Band Doppler Weather Radar in Jamaica.

The radar is used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate rain, hail, and others, and will significantly improve Jamaica's ability to accurately forecast extreme weather events.

Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Dayl Vaz, Director General of the PIOJ, Dr Wayne Henry, and Country Manager of the World Bank, Galina Sotirova, signed the contract at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St Andrew, earlier this week.

The radar will be designed and installed by the Enterprise Electronics Corporation from the US, which Cabinet recently granted approval with the award of a contract in the amount of US$2,449,203.

Critically important

The project is being funded with the help of the World Bank, through accessing funds from the Climate Investment Fund.

"Not only is it critically important that we replace the 20-year-old, almost obsolete system that once stood tall as the first Doppler Radar to be installed in the English-speaking Caribbean, but it signals a resolve to meet the global challenges of weather and climate that face this and future generations head-on," Vaz said. "Unfortunately, the monitoring capabilities of the Meteorological Service are hampered by the increasing failures of our aged radar system, hence its replacement is now a priority."

Implementation of the radar falls under the Improving Climate Data and Information Management Project, which has a development objective of improving the quality and use of climate related data for effective planning and action at all levels in Jamaica.