GOB-BRAC Weather Station - BRAC Research and Evaluation ...

GOB-BRAC Weather Station
BRAC Feed Mill, Sreepur, Gazipur
Currently the weather and climatic information of Bangladesh are mainly received by BMD (Bangladesh
Meteorological Department) operated 36 weather stations. The existing stations were established in British,
Pakistan and Bangladesh regimes mainly in the then small urban clusters. But in course of time, the
surrounding areas of those stations have changed in terms of building establishments, land use pattern and
vegetation covers. For this reason, the data generated on different climatic variables (i.e. temperature,
rainfall, humidity) by these weather stations may not be representative for the adjoining areas considering its
current context. Areas near to water bodies or forest cover may influence the occurrence of weather
conditions in a fashion different from the areas which are urbanized made of brick, concrete and asphalt. The
urban environments absorb the sun's energy, heat up and radiate heat to the ambient air, thus resulting in the
development of urban heat islands what rarely happens in rural conditions. The graph in the following also
supports that account, where temperature and rainfall pattern between Dhaka weather station and newly
established GoB-BRAC station are compared and difference revealed. In addition, microclimatic conditions
are important for local cropping pattern/vegetation dynamics, assessment of disease prevalence and water
potential and to understand local ecological processes. These issues are important for livelihoods security of
poor people, which is also echoed in the current Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2008.
Within this backdrop, this particular project is focused on preparing a climate database by establishing
weather stations. It is also evident that BMD weather stations do not cover all the geographical areas (please
see the map) of the country or agro-ecological regions of Bangladesh. Most of the stations are concentrated
in the southern parts of the country. In this regard, BRAC in close association with GoB agencies like BMD,
Ministry of Environment and Forest, BWDB and IUCN Bangladesh have taken an initiative to establish 8
weather stations to fill in the geographical gaps of climatic data generation.
29.00
28.00
Comparative Minimum Temperature in September 2008
Gazipur
Dhaka
70
60
Comparative Rainfall in September 2008
Gazipur
Dhaka
Temperature in ºC
27.00
26.00
25.00
Rainfall in MM
50
40
30
24.00
20
23.00
10
22.00
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Days
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Days
37.50
Comparative Maximum Temperature in September 2008
Gazipur
Dhaka
350
Comparative Total Amount of Rainfall in September 2008
35.00
300
288.6
250
Temperature in ºC
32.50
30.00
Rainfall in Millimeter
200
150
100
142.98
27.50
50
25.00
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101112131415161718192021222324252627282930
Days
0
Gazipur
Location of Weather Stations
Dhaka

GOB-BRAC Weather Station in Brief
Location
: BRAC Feed Mill, Sreepur, Gazipur (Modhupur Tract)
Date of Installation : August 05, 2008
Equipments :
a) One Stevenson Screen to measure Temperature and Humidity
b) One Rain Gauge to measure Rain Fall
Study Organizer :
a) BRAC Research and Evaluation Division
b) BRAC WASH Programme
Study Period : Initially from August 2008 to June 2011
Study Associates :
a) Bangladesh Meteorological Department
b) Ministry of Environment and Forest
c) Bangladesh Water Development Board
d) IUCN Bangladesh
Selected Locations for the weather stations to be established :
1. Tetulia BDP, Panchagarh – Piedmont Plain
2. Ataikula BDP, Pabna – Chalan Beel
3. Manda Sericulture, Naogaon – Barind Tract
4. Derai, Sunaganj – Haor Basin
5. Dublar Char – Sundarbans
6. Ruma, Bandarban – Chittagong Hill Tracts
7. Bakshiganj BDP, Jamalpur – Foggy Area

Photographs of the lunching ceremony of GOB-BRAC First Weather Station at BRAC Feed Mill, Gazipur