Background
In South Asia, people are experiencing the effects of a warming climate. Almost 750 million people -- half of South Asia’s population -- were affected by at least one climate-related disaster in the last two decades. The delivery of accurate, reliable, and timely weather and climate services in the region, however, is still fragmented and insufficient to meet user’s needs. Despite local and national efforts, several common gaps and challenges persists across National Meteorological and Hydrological Service (NMHS) Providers of South Asia. Weather and climate, indeed, do not respect national boundaries, and regional collaboration is key to make best use of the scarce economic, computational, and human resources available, while ensuring investments are effective and susatined over long-term.
Objective of SAHF
The South Asia Hydromet Forum (SAHF) supports regional engagement to promote collaboration and enhance capacity at the regional and sub-regional levels towards improving Hydromet, Early Warning and Climate Services in South Asia. This regional engagement has three main pillars:
(i) Regional dialogue and knowledge sharing: guided by the heads of the NMHSs in South Asia, which agreed to design and implement a regional strategy for operational cooperation, including the organization of a yearly hydromet forum (SAHF events);
(ii) Regional training and capacity building activities: aiming at strengthening capacities and capabilities of staff from NMHSs and related agencies. This will be achieved through regional trainings and by launching a regional training hub platform to provide common access to Numerical Weather Prediction products and information while enhancing accessibility to intra-regional data and information;
(iii) National level technical assistance to align with the regional engagement: addressing institutional and policy issues that impede hydromet providers and users.
Members
SAHF encompass 9 countries of South Asia: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
WATCH OUR ANNUAL SESSION, 2021
SAHF Video Podcast– Hydromet Modernization in South Asia
The objective of this podcast series is to capture and share the learnings and experiences from key contributors to Hydromet Modernization in South Asia. The podcast series explores strategic and implementation issues while also considering the challenges particular to SAR. The focus is very much on a practical, ‘what it takes to make it happen’ approach that is hopefully useful to practitioners in the region and beyond.
SAHF Weekly Forecasters' Forum
The Forecasters’ Forum brings together operational weather forecasters from National Meteorological and Hydrological services (NMHSs) of SAHF countries to enhance dialogue and share the latest forecasts, particularly on extreme weather events in the region so that they can better support user sectors, in undertaking preparedness measures, by leveraging technology and ideas.
