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Industry newsletter |
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Issue 1 | 04 November 2024
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Welcome to the first newsletter from the Met Office for Industry. I’m delighted to introduce myself as the Director of Government and Industry Relations.
Many of you will know us well already for the support we provide to your organisation. We work across industry, with virtually every UK Government department, the Devolved Governments and international partners through our 24/7 operational services and scientific research.
This newsletter aims to help share recent developments and key new areas of work that you might not be aware of and offer the opportunity to join up should they be relevant to your area of operation. This month we feature our weather preparedness for winter, new services launched including the Local Authority Climate Service and economic analysis which shows our value to UK.
If you would like further information on any of these areas, please contact campaigns@metoffice.gov.uk.
Steve Calder, Director of Government and Industry Relationships
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Last month, the findings of an independent analysis into the economic benefits and value the Met Office delivers to the UK were published. The report, compiled by London Economics, estimates that the Met Office will provide £56 billion in benefits to the UK over the next ten years, including £12.5 billion to aviation, £1.5 billion to winter transport and £10.9 billion to other business sectors. Through providing high quality weather information, the Met Office allows businesses to proactively plan to mitigate weather-related costs, which particularly occur in winter, and maximise safe working conditions.
Last month, we were pleased to announce the launch of our beta* version of the Met Office Local Authority Climate Service (LACS). As a world-leading climate science research organisation, we offer a range of products and services that support decision-making, empowering organisations to increase their resilience and meet statutory requirements.
Local Authorities are increasingly required to undertake reporting on adaptation and are aware of a growing need to consider their resilience to our changing climate. Our Local Authority Climate Service, supported by Defra, provides Local Authorities with crucial information on climate change in their area to support climate change adaptation planning.
LACS is built using geospatial technology from Esri UK and is part of the Met Office Climate Data Portal. The LACS is a commitment made by Defra in The Third National Adaptation Programme (NAP3) and the Fourth Strategy for Climate Adaptation Reporting. Whilst the service has been designed with Local Authorities in mind, other organisations may also find the information useful for adaptation planning.
If you would like to get in touch about the new service, please contact the team directly via email.
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Space weather is recognised as a significant potential threat to UK Government due to the possible impact on critical national infrastructure and industry. The Sun is in constant flux and the impact of this solar activity is more apparent as people become more reliant on technology and systems such as satellites, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), also known as Global Positioning System (GPS), power and radio communications. Solar flares can cause high-frequency radio and GNSS to perform erratically, extreme coronal mass ejections (CMEs) can put power grids at risk. Therefore, space weather prediction is of crucial importance to power companies, satellite operators and the aviation industry.
It is now ten years since the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC) became fully operational, forecasting and monitoring thousands of space weather events. The recent London Economics value report detailed above suggests that the Met Office’s space weather capability will be worth over £600million to the UK over the next decade.
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As autumn and winter approach, they bring complex preparation challenges for the rail industry. The Met Office has been providing bespoke forecasts to rail operators for over 30 years, helping to minimise disruptions from winter weather. With continuing improvements in technologies and science, the rail industry can benefit from advanced forecasts including information on local topography and localised leaf fall. In the latest Rail Professional, Becky Moore, Business Manager at the Met Office, discusses the short- and long-term forecasting techniques that enable the rail sector in decision-making to keep people safe and save the industry time and money.
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Infographics and case studies
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Click on the image to view this infographic on a
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With the right solution, the top five largest airlines flying to and from the UK could collectively save up to 60,000 tonnes of aviation fuel per year, cutting CO2 emissions by approximately 189,000 tonnes annually. The aviation industry is more and more focused on mitigating the environmental impact of air travel, with a pressing need for services that facilitate modernisation and safeguard the long-term future of the sector. The Met Office provides industry leading weather and climate expertise and data on a global scale to the aviation sector, enhancing safety and efficiency.
One of these services is ClearPath, an advanced real-time flight path optimisation, developed by Swedish software company AVTECH Sweden AB. The software utilises Met Office high-resolution data to assist airlines in operating more efficiently and safely. AVTECH has worked closely with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) since December 2022 to improve overall flight efficiency and performance. Our case study demonstrates how implementing ClearPath resulted in significant environmental and economic improvements for SAS.
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From end of October, we started our transport focused seasonal weather briefings. This series of monthly webinars is based on the three-month weather outlook and is being held throughout the winter season. These briefings have a transport focus and are useful for planning operations and helping to identify upcoming challenging weather. They are led by an Expert Operational Meteorologist and include a Q&A discussion.
Access the next webinar to be held on 26 November here or send an email to transport@metoffice.gov.uk to receive regular updates and links to the transport focused weather briefing webinars.
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Prepare for winter with our online training courses, specifically designed for road maintenance decision makers and gritting operators. Choose from Weather Basics and Using the OpenSite Forecast service to learn how to be better informed when making operational decisions this winter.
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The ‘Assessing your climate risk – an introduction to climate data and reporting’ course will introduce you to the key concepts of climate risk assessments and aid your understanding of climate projections. Designed for consultants, analysts, or those in similar roles, this course will help you gain the skills you need to identify, access, interpret and communicate climate data to meet your organisational needs.
The course is online comprising of approximately 20-25 hours of self-led learning and group workshops. The next cohort will start in January 2025.
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Follow us on the social media channels below to join the conversation. #WhenItMatters
You might also be interested in our Climate Newsletter. Subscribe here.
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