Premier Lai Ching-te applauded the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) on Thursday for deploying advanced meteorological technology systems as part of the nation's infrastructure, saying the effort will safeguard the lives and properties of the people of Taiwan.
The bureau's interdisciplinary and transnational collaborations as well as its application of intelligent technologies to strengthen disaster warning systems have thus far yielded encouraging results, the premier said following the CWB's briefing on smart meteorological data applications.
The CWB said recent years have seen an increase in the frequency of calamitous weather. To provide timely and useful weather information that can be naturally integrated into people's lifestyles, the bureau has stepped up the use of information and communications technology to improve an array of capabilities, including weather monitoring and forecasting, disaster preparedness and early warning systems, interdisciplinary cooperation on meteorology, and public services. These measures have improved the government's ability to provide weather services, which in turn will protect lives and property and promote socioeconomic development.
In disaster preparedness and early warning, for instance, the CWB has adopted cell broadcast technology to transmit thunderstorm warning messages, reminding the public to take precautions against torrential rain, strong gusts and lightning strikes. A new warning service for strong typhoon winds was also created at the start of this year's typhoon season. And to prepare Taiwan for direct typhoon hits this coming season, the bureau will convene a videoconference with local government leaders at 7 p.m. on the eve of the storm to provide important information including the path of the typhoon, the duration of impact, and wind and precipitation estimates.