Training on High Impact Weather Assessment Toolkit

Date 19 Dec 2021 to 20 Dec 2021
Venue Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Contact Persons SERVIR-HKH
Type Training
Programmes SERVIR-HKH, MENRIS

About the training

In collaboration with the Institute of Remote Sensing and GIS, Jahangirnagar University, we are organizing a technical training for the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) on the operationalization and use of the High Impact Weather Assessment Toolkit (HIWAT). The training will focus on the use of deterministic and ensemble numerical weather forecasts generated by HIWAT, provide an opportunity to discuss and refine HIWAT as per national needs, and receive feedback from BMD professionals on customization and enhancement of the toolkit’s data visualization capabilities.

Objective

Demonstrate HIWAT’s data visualization capabilities and receive feedback from users

Target audience

The training is meant for professionals from BMD and partners working in the field of hydrometeorology, and will include operational forecasters, climate, and disaster researchers.

Background

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) developed HIWAT as part of the NASA SERVIR Applied Sciences Team project. We worked with the NASA SERVIR Science Coordination Office, NASA MSFC, and Brigham Young University to further customize HIWAT for the HKH region under our SERVIR-HKH Initiative.

After two years of successful demonstration of HIWAT’s capabilities for extreme weather forecasting, BMD will be installing HIWAT at their computing cluster for operational thunderstorm forecasting. With funding support from the Government of Bangladesh, BMD has procured a high-performance computing (HPC) system for the installation of HIWAT. We are working with the NASA SERVIR Applied Sciences Team to install HIWAT in BMD’s HPC system.

Resource persons

  1. Jonathan Case, NASA Applied Sciences Team (virtual participation)
  2. Abdul Mannan, Meteorologist, BMD
  3. Bhupesh Adhikary, Senior Air Quality Specialist, ICIMOD
  4. Mir Matin, Theme Leader – Geospatial Solutions, ICIMOD
  5. Birendra Bajracharya, Chief of Party – SERVIR-HKH, ICIMOD
  6. Kiran Shakya, Geospatial Application Development Specialist, ICIMOD

Tentative agenda

  • Day 1 – Sunday, 19 December 2021
    Time Session Resource person/s
    09:30–10:00 Opening session

    Welcome remarks

    Workshop overview

    Introduction to SERVIR-HKH

     

    Director, BMD

    Mir Matin, ICIMOD

    Birendra Bajracharya, ICIMOD

    10:00–11:00 Background and introduction to NASA SERVIR Applied Sciences Team project on thunderstorm monitoring Mir Matin, ICIMOD
    11:00–11:15 Break
    11:15–12:30 Introduction to HIWAT Bhupesh Adhikary, ICIMOD
    12:30–13:30 Lunch break
    13:30–15:00 Demonstration of HIWAT’s data visualization capabilities Kiran Shakya, ICIMOD
    15:00–15:20 Break
    15:20–16:45 Feedback on data visualization Md. Abdul Mannan, BMD
  • Day 2 – Monday, 20 December 2021
    Time Session Resource person/s
    09:30–09:45 Welcome, logistics, and agenda review
    09:45–10:45 Demonstration of HIWAT’s data visualization capabilities Kiran Shakya, ICIMOD
    10:45–11:15 Break
    11:15–12:30 Discussion and feedback on HIWAT Presentation and discussion moderated by Md. Abdul Mannan, BMD
    12:30–13:30 Lunch break
    13:30–15:30 Discussion continued – next steps
    15:30–16:00 Closing