1. Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) www.tmd.go.th
Member Country Name
Submitted by
W. Petsuwan
Thai Meteorological Department (TMD)
RA II WIGOS Workshop
6-8 November 2018, Beijing, China

2. Outline Introduction to the country and the NMHS
Physical context of the country
National requirements for observations
Summary of national observing capabilities
Status of National implementation of WIGOS
Other remarks

3. Overview of Thailand Population: 69.23 Millions
The climate of Thailand is tropical, with three distinct seasons
a hot season from March to mid-May,
a rainy season caused by the southwest monsoon, which generally runs from mid-May to October,
and a dry and relatively cool season from November to February, when the north-east monsoon, coming from the Asian continent, prevails.
However, the relatively cool season is felt in the north and in
inland areas, while on the coasts and in the south it's hot even in
winter. 

4. Extreme events
Most Extreme events in Thailand are causes from excessive Rainfall and Flooding
26 December 2004: The Indian Ocean tsunami hit the west coast of Southern Thailand, resulting in 4,812 confirmed deaths, 8,458 injuries, and 4,499 missing in Thailand.
July 2011 – January 2012: widespread flooding in 65 provinces resulted in 815 confirmed deaths, 13 million rai (21,000 square kilometres (8,100 sq mi)) of farmland damaged, and estimated economic losses of 1,425 billion baht (43 billion USD).

5. Thai Meteorological Department
Total Staff is about 1,000
Meteorological staff (500)
Others (500)

6. Infrastructures - Basic Meteorological Station (77)
Observation Network
Synoptic Meteorological Station (123)
- Basic Meteorological Station (77)
- Agro Meteorological Station (30)
- Hydro Meteorological Staton (16)
Upper Air Station (12)
Doppler Radar (20)
Automatic Weather Station (87)
Automatic Rainguage Station (930)
Seismic Observation Network (100+)
Lightning Detection Network (4)

7. Physical context of the country

8. National requirements for observations
National priority application areas
Agriculture, Hydrology, Public Safety  Water Management
Transports (especially for aviation)
Most relevant measurements:
Precipitation, Temperature, humidity
Pressure, Wind

9. National observing capabilities
Surface observing stations (123)
RBSN (87)
RBCN (14)

10. National observing capabilities
Upper-Air (12) / Radiosonde (5)
Radar (20 --> in 2020 to upgrade to dual polarisation

11. National observing capabilities
Seismic station ( > in 2020 agree with other three gov. agency to add 130 more stations
- Lightning Detection Network
(4 -->14 in 2019)
- Rain Guage Station
(930 --> 400 in 2020 but will have MOU
with other three government agencies with
about 1,000 stations)
- Hydrological Stations (16)
- Ocean Wave Radars (2 + 4)
- Aeorsal, Ozone, Solar, UV (2)
- Wind Profiler (1 --> 1+8 in 2020)

12. Status of National implementation of WIGOS
National Observing Strategy : adopted/approved by TMD;
National WIGOS Implementation Plan: adopted/approved by TMD;
National WIGOS governance mechanism: in place in TMD;
National WIGOS partnership agreements for integration and open-sharing of observations from NMHSs and non-NMHSs sources: in place case by case basis;
OSCAR/Surface being populated and updated with WIGOS metadata for which observations are exchanged internationally
Number of reporting stations updated by Member in OSCAR/Surface : 123
Number of reporting stations in OSCAR/Surface with all mandatory metadata: 123
Number of staff trained in OSCAR/Surface: None (two participated in WIGOS Workshop), in need for e-learning courses

13. Status of National implementation of WIGOS
VI. WIGOS Station Identifiers: implemented on stations in OSCAR/Surface VII. WIGOS Data Quality Monitoring System (WDQMS): national process in place, for acting on quality problem information received from WDQMS; - Training courses, Standard procedures, Software tool, Statistical analysis (anomaly), Routine maintenance, Instrument Calibration, Request for Repair VIII. National focal points nominated - WIGOS NFP Wattana KANBUA - OSCAR/Surface NFP Bundan SUBCHAROEN

14. Other remarks
Need trainings for true understanding of core elements such as OSCAR, WDQMS
New code formats are difficult to keep up
- Native BUFR upper-air report
- IWXXM for OPMET data
Need more participation in Radio Frequency Coordination to protect radio frequency uses in observations (WMO No Guide to Participation in Radio-Frequency Coordination)
NMHS  National Regulator  Regional Meeting (APT)  WRC (World Radiocommunication Conferences)

15. Thank you