Session of Working group WG-8 on the theme «Capacity-building and professional training» of Interstate Council for hydrometeorology of CIS member States was held in the A.I. Voeikov Central Geophysical Observatory on 28-29 May, 2018 (Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation). The meeting reviewied the state of staff capacity of the national hydrometeorological services, identified opportunities and main areas of joint action for sustainable capacity development including  interaction with national training institutions of CIS member States which trains specialists- hydrometeorologists and works with WMO programme on capacity development. During the meeting it was decided to strengthen cooperation (in future engagement between national hydrometeorological services) in the field of staff capacity-building WG-9 is executive body of Interstate Council for hydrometeorology of CIS member States and  carries out its functions in close collaboration with  the Secretariant of CIS Interstate Council for hydrometeorology and with CIS Executive Committee. The purpose of the WG-8  is to prepare draft decisions of  Interstate Council for hydrometeorology on the organization and coordination in terms of capacity building and training schemes for national hydrometeorology services. 

Every year, on May 31, WHO and partners celebrate world no tobacco day, drawing attention to health risks associated with tobacco use and effective policies to reduce tobacco consumption.  The theme of world no tobacco day 2018 is "Tobacco and heart disease". The campaign will aim to raise awareness of the: links between tobacco and heart disease and other cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including stroke, which together are the leading cause of death in the world; feasible actions and measures that key stakeholders, including governments and the public can take to reduce tobacco-related health risks heart. World no tobacco day 2018 is taking place against the backdrop of a number of global initiatives and activities aimed at combating the tobacco epidemic, which has an impact on public health and is the cause of death and suffering of millions of people in the world. The Ministry of health of the Republic of Belarus is concerned about the problem of tobacco consumption, especially among young people, and takes various measures to prevent this dependence. Every year, in order to prevent diseases related to tobacco Smoking, and enhance the promotion of healthy lifestyles among the population of the Republic of Belarus, preventive information and educational campaigns are held. Thus, in order to implement the provisions of the WHO framework Convention on tobacco control in the Republic of Belarus, the state program "people's Health and demographic security" for 2016-2020, approved by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus on March 14, 2016 № 200, as well as in connection with the holding of May 31, 2018 Single health day "world day without tobacco" in the period from 11 to 31 of May in the Republic of Belarus held the Republican anti-tobacco information and education campaign "under the motto" tobacco and heart disease". The aim of this action is to raise awareness of the population about the relationship between tobacco Smoking and cardiovascular diseases, which are the main cause of death in the world, as well as prevention of tobacco consumption, as one of the important measures to reduce Smoking-related diseases. Tobacco products are products for which tobacco leaves are used as raw materials and which are intended for Smoking, sucking, chewing or sniffing. The composition of all such products includes nicotine - a psychotropic component that causes severe addiction. Tobacco use is a major risk factor for a range of chronic diseases, including cancer, lung and cardiovascular diseases. Despite this, tobacco use is widespread throughout the world. Tobacco Smoking is an epidemic and a global problem for humanity, as exposure to tobacco smoke is one of the causes of death, disease and disability in large numbers of people. The consequences of bad habits annually lead to the death of about 6 million people in the world (600 thousand of them are passive smokers). In Europe alone, the annual number of tobacco-related deaths is about 1.2 million (14% of all deaths). In Europe, approximately 215 million people are smokers, of which 130 million are men. According to the European Union, 19,000 non-smokers die each year from secondhand smoke. WHO experts predict that by 2020 tobacco will become the main cause of death for 10 million people annually. Tobacco smoke is harmful not only for a smoker, but also for those who are close to him. Inhalation of air with tobacco smoke is called passive Smoking. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Studies have shown that the risk of passive Smoking is very real. The smoke flowing from a lit cigarette is unfiltered smoke. It contains 50 times more carcinogens, twice as much tar and nicotine, five times more carbon monoxide and 50 times more ammonia than smoke inhaled through a cigarette. For people who work in a heavily smoked room, the degree of passive Smoking can reach the equivalent of 14 cigarettes smoked per day, which brings them closer to a regular smoker. There is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke. Passive Smoking is dangerous in itself, however, the risks associated with it increase when staying indoors. Tobacco smoke irritates the upper respiratory tract. Dry nose, sore throat, sneezing-this is only a small, superficial part of the problem. Constant irritation of the nasal mucosa can lead to the formation of vasomotor rhinitis. Not many people know that problems with nasal breathing have a direct connection with ear diseases. Swollen or conversely, overly dry mucosa of the nasal cavity may lead to tubootitis (Eustachio). Asthma in General "loves" passive smokers — they develop it five times more often than those who are lucky not to face tobacco smoke. Passive Smoking has a powerful effect on the reproductive system, in particular in women — the menstrual cycle becomes shorter than in non-Smoking women. This can cause a decrease in the ability to conceive. Early ovarian depletion is typical of women who smoke, however, passive ovarian syndrome is also not a rare finding. Smoking when carrying a child to decide, by and large, the woman. And she is also responsible for the development of child complications associated with Smoking. But when a pregnant woman is forced to inhale the smoke of cigarettes of Smoking households — this can already be regarded as intentional harm to her and the child! Passive Smoking during pregnancy causes such pathological conditions as: high risk of premature birth, low birth weight, increased risk of sudden infant death syndrome, atopic dermatitis in the child. The eradication of Smoking is one of the effective measures to improve the health of the population. According to the international cancer Union (UICC), today 30% of all cancer deaths are associated with Smoking. Reducing tobacco use by half will save 170 million lives by 2050. It is necessary that everyone can breathe air free from tobacco smoke. Today, there are many methods and ways to get rid of this addiction. In the Republic of Belarus, assistance to those who have decided to "quit" cigarettes is provided on an outpatient basis in all regional health care institutions that provide drug (psychiatric) assistance to the population. There are 8 specialized rooms for the treatment of nicotine addiction in the Republic. In health facilities where data are lacking, the rooms are functional responsibilities assigned to local doctors-psychiatrists-narcologists, psychotherapists. Given that the effectiveness of anti-tobacco activities depends largely on the mobilization of all government structures, Belhydromet supports the Republican information and educational campaign. The trade Union Committee of the primary trade Union organization is in constant interaction with the administration of the Belhydromet on the implementation of measures aimed at the formation of a healthy lifestyle, prevention of tobacco use. The trade Union Committee constantly provides organizational and financial support for various sports, sports and tourism activities, monthly subscriptions to the gym and sauna.   Information about the consequences of tobacco consumption and exposure to tobacco smoke is posted on Bulletin boards and in designated Smoking areas and communicated to each employee by mailing your work email, and all employees with this addiction, recommended just for today to stop Smoking. The activities carried out within the framework of the campaign are one of the opportunities to pay attention to the problem of Smoking, to continue the formation of the team's intolerance to Smoking and prevention of Smoking in public places. If you are not indifferent to your family and yourself - quit Smoking as soon as possible! (Adapted from: http://minzdrav.gov.by/ru/novoe-na-sayte/31-maya-vsemirnyy-den-bez-tabaka/ ).

Commissioning of a new satellite data receiving station in the far Eastern center of the Federal state budgetary institution "planet»   In the far East center of the Federal state University "SIC "Planeta" put into operation a new complex of reception and processing of satellite information on the basis of a full-circle antenna diameter of 9 meters. The complex provides reception of information with the domestic number of satellites of "meteor" and "Canopus".  The commissioning of this complex ensures reliable reception of space data with an increase in satellite groupings for hydrometeorological purposes and monitoring of the natural environment, including dangerous phenomena. It should be noted that the new station has allowed to increase the volume of received information and satellite information products at a time when the far East is actively processes that often lead to emergency situations: opening of rivers, natural fires, volcanic eruptions. The perfect cloud ring flew over Kazakhstan The study of clouds is given a lot of attention, but sometimes in the atmosphere notice not uncommon amazing education that are attractive for aesthetic reasons, and scientific. On may 22, the MODIS Spectroradiometer on NASA's Terra satellite received an image of a circular cloud vortex flying over lake Balkhash in Eastern Kazakhstan. In the picture you can see that the clouds have formed an almost perfect circle. MODIS instruments installed on polar orbital satellites receive images of each part of the Earth once a day. The INSAT-3DR geostationary satellite, operated by the Indian space research organization, observes this part of the planet closely and receives new images every 26 minutes. This helps to fill in the data gaps. Terra satellite received the image at 12: 05 local time. INSAT-3dr pictures show that a few hours before the circular formation was associated with the area of convection over the Western Tien Shan mountains. The clouds swirled because of the cyclonic wind flow. The radius of the circle was about 200 kilometers — small enough that meteorologists could attribute the phenomenon to the category of mesoscale. SYNOPTIC scale formations have a horizontal length of more than 1000 kilometers, while the micro — scale ones are less than 1 kilometer. Over the UK hit 20,000 lightning per night Last weekend, the British sky lit up with a great light show. A strong storm swept over southern England and the Midlands. Experienced meteorologists admitted that they had never seen anything like it. The London fire brigade received more than 500 calls related to the weather, when the warm and humid weather was replaced by a severe storm. In Warwickshire, lightning struck five buildings early Sunday morning. In the city of dolish in the County of Devon because of lightning lit up the phone booth. In the Midlands of light lost about 1000 jobs. In the valley of the Thames announced 17 warnings due to floods. In the West Midlands and Bedfordshire motorists warned about the danger of driving on flooded roads. The employee of the meteorological service of the UK Charlie Powell says that during the night in the country struck from 15 to 20 thousand lightning. He explains: "the Temperature at night did not fall below 15-16 degrees, for the end of may it is quite warm and humid night, so all the conditions for a storm were created." Flooding in Sri Lanka 19 people were killed, 128 thousand people were injured. In Sri Lanka, the rainy season began. The rains that hit the island have already caused the death of 19 people. Accompanied by strong wind rains caused flooding in the center and West of Sri Lanka. According to Pradeep Kodippili of the country's disaster management Center, more than 55 thousand residents were evacuated to less dangerous areas, about four thousand homes were flooded or destroyed. In total, due to the action of the elements, about 128 thousand people were injured. The authorities warned of the increased threat of landslides. Rescue services, police and the military are currently providing assistance to the local population. According to weather forecasters, rain will continue, in some places can fall more than 150 mm of rain, the danger of mudflows. In the area of special risk are residents whose homes are located near the banks of large rivers. Climate change can adversely affect tea production and quality In the next decade, tea production and consumption will grow, mainly due to demand in developing countries. European citizens increasingly prefer coffee or water, but new varieties of tea compete with them. These are the findings of the FAO report (food and agriculture organization of the United Nations) on the tea market. Experts warn that climate change can negatively affect the scale of tea production and its quality. The growth in tea production is associated with its popularity in emerging economies such as China and India. In turn, the increase in demand for tea there experts explain the increase in income of the population, as well as the emergence of new varieties of this traditional drink: green, herbal, fruit, berry tea, as well as delicatessen varieties. Overall, black tea production is expected to increase by 2.2% annually over the next ten years. And green tea will gain popularity even faster – its production will grow every year by 7.5%. The report notes that today the largest exporter of tea is Kenya, but it is catching up with China. There, as in India and Sri Lanka, it is becoming increasingly popular. However, in Europe, tea gives way to coffee and bottled water. The same Europeans who like to indulge in tea, go from bags to loose tea and prefer delicious varieties that are served in trendy cafes and tea. At the same time, the authors of the report warn that the tea industry is threatened by climate change. For the cultivation of tea requires very specific conditions. Changing temperatures, unpredictable rainfall can affect the yield, quality and cost of tea, and farmers may lose income. FAO calls for adaptation measures to climate change and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas emissions that accompany the tea production process. In India, build roads from plastic debris In India, recycled plastic is used for road construction. Only in 2017, 100 thousand km of the roadway was laid from plastic garbage in the country. Many Indian States are participating in the project. In Kerala, the most active participants in the program were local fishermen. Plastic waste has long been a significant part of their catches, and the establishment of a plastic recycling center in the state was an excellent solution for the disposal of ocean debris. For the fishermen of the centre the opportunity to earn additional income. Since the beginning of 2018, 5 thousand participants of the project have delivered more than 65 tons of plastic garbage to the center. In the center, the plastic is crushed and melted at a temperature of about 170 °C. hot bitumen is added to the substance, and the resulting substance is laid as asphalt. Plastic recycling is one of the most urgent problems of the planet. A possible breakthrough in the fight against plastic pollution — the discovery of an enzyme that can digest plastic — made a team of scientists from the UK and the US in April 2018.

Measures and weights played an important role in human life from the very beginning of human civilization. Measurements are important for a variety of tasks: building houses, commerce, sewing clothes. In all these cases, some information about the size is required. The need for measurements has led to the emergence of a vast array of different systems of measures and weights - from the simplest to the most complex. Here are what units of physical quantities measurements were on the territory of the Slavic states in the 18th century: 1 verst - 1067 m; 1 sazhen - 2 m 13 cm; 1 verst - 4,44 cm; 1 pood -16.38 kg; 1 pound - 0.409 kg; 1 barrel - 40 buckets; 1 bucket - 12,299 liters; 1 shtof - 1,23 l; 1 cup - 0,123 liters. In order that units of measurements were universal in all countries, May 20, 1875, the Metric Convention was signed. To mark the same World Metrology Day was decided by the International Committee of Weights and Measures (CIPM) in October 1999. The Metric Convention is an agreement for international cooperation in the field of metrology - the science of measurements, and its application in industry, commercial and social spheres. The original goal of the Metric Convention - ensuring the unity of metrological standards in different countries - remains as important and relevant as it was in 1875. Every year, in celebration of World Metrology Day, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and the International Organization of Legal Metrology implement projects on various pressing topics. The theme of the World Metrology Day of 2018 is the constant evolution of the International System of Units. This topic was chosen because in November 2018 the General Conference on Weights and Measures plans to approve one of the biggest changes in the International System of Units since its inception. The proposed changes are based on the results of studies of new measurement methods that use quantum phenomena as a basis for fundamental standards. The international system of units will be based on definitions of units, each of which is related to the laws of physics, which has the advantages of further improving measurements in science and technology to meet the needs of users for many years to come. Metrology, as a science of measurement, plays a central role in scientific discoveries and innovations, industrial production and international trade, in improving the quality of life and in protecting the environment. Units of physical quantities admitted for use on the territory of the Republic of Belarus are fixed in Technical Regulations TR 2007/003/by. In Belarus, the World Metrology Day is celebrated annually, beginning in 2004. This holiday is a recognition of the results of professional activities of metrologists. Today the measuring instrumentation service of Belhydromet is a team of highly qualified metrological engineers providing a uniform state policy in the field of ensuring the uniformity of measurements in order to protect human interests in the field of hydrometeorological activities. The service of measuring instruments of Belhydromet closely cooperates with state metrological organizations to ensure timely metrological control of the measuring instruments and test equipment used. Dear colleagues, we congratulate you on your professional holiday! We wish to follow your goals, without deviating one millimeter from our dream! Let in your life there will always be something that does not lend itself to any dimensions, what is unlimited and comprehensive: happiness, love, friendship, inspiration! Further success in work!

From 7 to 9 May 2018 in Geneva (Switzerland) the global conference "Prosperity through hydrological services" (HydroConference) is held. It aims to promote cooperation in improving the availability of hydrological information around the world by: promoting cooperation for new and existing initiatives, including the organization of data exchange; using the knowledge and experience of all stakeholders in the field of water resources to coordinate efforts to achieve greater impact; mobilizing public and private sector leaders to support key initiatives. One of the main objectives of the conference is to create more effective interaction between hydrological information providers and users who need such information. "By 2050, it is estimated that at least one in four people is likely to live in a country that has suffered from a chronic or recurring deficit of fresh water. The flood damage is about 120 billion dollars a year, and droughts can slow economic growth. Therefore, the first priority is to improve sustainable water management," said Harry Lins, Chairman of the Commission for Hydrology of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). At the conference Belhydromet is represented by Deputy Chief Kuzmich Svetlana, Head of the Hydrology and Agrometeorology Service Zhuravovich Lyudmila and Head of the Information and Polygraphy Department Korzun Eugene.