The 76th meeting of the joint Board of the Union State Committee on Hydrometeorology and Environmental Pollution Monitoring is taking place in Gomel

The meeting brought together representatives of the hydrometeorological services of the two countries, representatives of the Standing Committee of the Union State, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection of Belarus, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, as well as executive authorities and scientific circles of the two countries.

Specialists of the two countries are considering topical issues of interaction between the state hydrometeorological services of Belarus and Russia, including climate services in the technical sphere of the economy, the state and improvement of the atmospheric air monitoring system. Among the important topics is the role of additional professional education for the sustainable professional development of the hydrometeorological industry, etc. It will also focus on ensuring hydrometeorological safety in conditions of climate variability and change, the state and improvement of the atmospheric air monitoring system, the development of the portal "Hydrological Observation Network of the Russian Federation" in the interests of the Union State, the formation and management of the State Hydrometeorological Fund in Belarus and Russia.

The meeting is held in the spirit of friendly dialogue.

For reference: the joint board has been held for more than a quarter of a century. It is a platform for constructive dialogue, consideration of issues in the field of hydrometeorology and related fields, exchange of experience. Also on the agenda is a discussion of current activities and promising scientific developments.

Before the meeting, Svetlana Kuzmich, First Deputy head of Belhydromet told reporters about cooperation with Russian colleagues : "To create a short-term forecast it is enough to know the weather on the territory of neighboring countries, but to create a forecast for 10 days ahead, you need to know what the weather was in Canada. And the fact that some of the European information is not available to us now we compensate through new technologies related to satellite meteorology, training of our specialists. According to the agreement reached with our Russian colleagues, our specialists are trained according to the quotas of the Union State. There is something to strive for, developing new directions."

Information from the Belarusian side is valuable for colleagues from Russia. "We are located west of Russia. And the Western transfer is typical for the European part. From 2018 to 2020 we have built a wide network of radars. We have five radars for the republic. And we already see the development of dangerous and unfavorable phenomena on the outskirts of Belarus. And it is very interesting and important for our colleagues as well. We have created a single radar field. Thus, we provide ourselves and our Russian colleagues with this information," explained the first deputy head of the Belhydromet.

Svetlana Kuzmich also told reporters about the objective need to adapt to the ongoing climate changes: "The hydrometeorological industry has something to strive for and improve, although modernization has been carried out in recent years, technological approaches have been strengthened. Now not only the topic of climate change is relevant in the country, but also real recommendations to industries and sectors of the economy on how to adapt to this factor. We can talk about a certain shift in cycles, an increase in the off-season period. At the same time, we understand that it is impossible to reverse the ongoing processes but we are able to offer solutions to adapt to them. And each industry is characterized by its own dangerous phenomena. At the same time agriculture suffers the most: approximately 42% of all dangerous phenomena lead to the death of agricultural crops, 19% affects the fuel and energy complex and 12% affects the construction industry. Our specialists also develop recommendations for the adaptation of various sectors of the economy. For example in the construction industry it is necessary to revise certain rules and regulations. If we talk about the energy industry we understand that now the share of electricity costs for air conditioning exceeds the share of heating costs. In the agricultural sphere there is a need to replace some systems, seeds with more thermophilic ones."