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02.04.2024

On April 2, the Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia is celebrated

The Day of Unity of the Peoples of Belarus and Russia is celebrated annually on April 2 in Belarus and Russia. On this day, both our peoples celebrate the idea of their unification.

One of the first Agreements concluded after the collapse of the Soviet Union between the newly independent states was the Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Hydrometeorology, signed in Moscow in 1992.

The Agreement on the Formation of the Community of Belarus and Russia, signed in 1996, set the task of creating a unified meteorological service.

In order to implement the provisions of the Agreement on the Formation of the Community of Belarus and Russia to organize and ensure joint activities of the two countries in the field of hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring, on December 18, 1996, the Executive Committee of the Community of Belarus and Russia approved the Regulations on the Committee of the Community of Belarus and Russia on Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of Environmental Pollution, which was subsequently renamed the Committee of the Union State on hydrometeorology and monitoring of environmental pollution (hereinafter referred to as Soyuzkomhydromet).

Soyuzkomhydromet is an organ of the Union State that organizes and coordinates activities at the interstate level in the field of hydrometeorology and related fields (meteorology, climatology, hydrology, agrometeorology, heliogeophysics), monitoring environmental pollution, as well as providing government agencies, the population, the economy and the armed forces with data and information on actual and forecasted weather conditions - climatic conditions, the state and pollution of the natural environment.

In order to ensure the optimal functioning of the Soyuzkomhydromet, a joint board of ten people was established. The joint board of the Soyuzkomhydromet consists of: the chairman, the deputy chairman (heads of authorized state administration bodies of Belarus and Russia in the field of hydrometeorology or persons appointed in these bodies as managers of activities in the field of hydrometeorology), as well as four members appointed on a parity basis from Belarus and Russia.

Meetings of the joint board of the Soyuzkomhydromet have been held at least twice a year since 1996. Over the 28 years of its existence, Soyuzkomhydromet has held 76 meetings.

76th meeting of the Joint Board of the Union State Committee on Hydrometeorology and Environmental Pollution Monitoring Gomel, October 11-12, 2023

Traditionally, representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, the Standing Committee of the Union State, executive authorities and scientific circles of Russia and Belarus are invited to participate in the work of the joint board of the Soyuzkomhydromet. The meetings result in decisions determining the vector of further interaction and development of the state hydrometeorological services of Russia and Belarus for the near and medium term.

Thanks to the activities of Soyuzkomhydromet, the state hydrometeorological services of Russia and Belarus regularly exchange advanced scientific developments in the field of hydrometeorology and related fields, carry out technical modernization, as well as increase human resources and production capacities.

Historically, Soyuzkomhydromet acts as a guarantor of the development and implementation of programs of the Union State in the field of hydrometeorology and related fields.

Thanks to the effective work of the state hydrometeorological services of Russia and Belarus, four programs of the Union State in the field of hydrometeorology and related fields have been successfully developed and implemented under the auspices of the Soyuzkomhydromet. A program of joint activities between Russia and Belarus within the framework of the Union State to ensure hydrometeorological safety in conditions of climate variability and change from 2023 to 2027 is being developed.

The implementation of four programs of the Union State in the field of hydrometeorology and related fields contributed to:

1. Improving methods and technologies of hydrometeorological forecasts and warnings to ensure the safety of public life and reduce damage from dangerous and adverse weather events, as a result of which global and regional hydrodynamic models of a new generation have been developed.

To ensure the agricultural sector, work was carried out to adapt a number of methods to the changed climatic conditions, and an automated operational system for assessing droughts was developed.

2. The development of climate research at the regional and international levels, as a result of which technologies have been developed to assess the effects of climate change on various sectors of the economy, as well as complexes of appropriate adaptation measures.

3. Improving environmental pollution monitoring technologies to increase the effectiveness of environmental protection activities of the Union State, as a result of which methods for predicting atmospheric air and surface water pollution in radiation accidents have been updated. Under the auspices of Soyuzkomhydromet, specialists from Russia and Belarus took part in the design of the Belarusian NPP. New methods have been developed for the determination of pollutants in natural waters and sediments, as well as comprehensive assessments of the state of water bodies, the background state of the natural environment and transboundary flows of pollutants.

4. Development of environmental monitoring systems, their technical, technological and metrological support, as a result of which new technologies and equipment have been developed for obtaining, collecting, processing and distributing information about the state of the natural environment. Serial production of meteorological, actinometric sensors and instruments, automated measuring systems and automatic stations has begun. In addition, the unified information support system for the needs of the Union State for hydrometeorological data has been optimized, new methods of exchanging storm warnings between the regional centers of Russia and Belarus have been worked out, and ways to improve data exchange technology have been identified.

5. Improvement of technologies for processing regime hydrometeorological information and the formation of databases on the state of the natural environment, as a result of which software tools for primary processing, accumulation and dissemination of regime meteorological information of stations and posts, hydrological information on rivers and canals, lakes and reservoirs, software complexes have been developed and implemented.

The results achieved in the implementation of previous programs have a positive effect on the preservation of a favorable environment, the adaptation of economic sectors, vital interests of individuals and society to climate change, as well as increasing their level of protection from the effects of natural hazards and are also taken into account when developing a program for the next five-year period.

It is planned that the program for 2023-2027 will increase the resilience of social, economic and environmental systems to climate variability and change by developing effective and sustainable regional and national climatic, hydrometeorological, geophysical and environmental services.

In 2022, a course was taken to develop a new relevant program, which is currently in a high degree of readiness.

In December 2023, a Plan for joint operational and production activities of Belyhydromet and Roshydromet was signed within the framework of the Union State Committee on Hydrometeorology and Environmental Pollution Monitoring for 2024-2025.

Every year, the volume of exchange of hydrometeorological and related information between Belhydromet and Roshydromet increases.

Over the 28 years of its existence, Soyuzkomhydromet has established itself as a unique integration platform that has a positive effect on the activities of the state hydrometeorological services of Russia and Belarus, and its activities play a significant role in the functioning of the Union State, especially taking into account the current global climate agenda.

In addition, 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the Formation of the Union of Russia and Belarus.

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