Achievements

The meteorological and hydrological observation networks were in poorcondition before the Project and they were kept in operation with highmaintenance costs. The strongest contribution of the Project was directedto the meteorological, hydrological and marine meteorological observationnetworks, acquisition of spare parts for conventional instruments, establishmentof automatic weather stations in remote locations and the upper-air soundingsystem at the International Airport in San Jose. The Project was also crucialfor the operation of the National Center for Solar Radiation run in cooperationby the National Meteorological Institute and the University of Costa Rica.Calibration and maintenance of the radiometric network are not the onlyactivities of the Centre, but also research and training in solar radiation,climatological studies, such as mean monthly radiation charts, studiesof architectonic design, climatic change, and human health, particularlyin relation to harmful ultraviolet radiation.

The improvement of the infrastructure of World Weather Watch was carriedout through implementation of the two-way satellite based telecommunicationsystem to upgrade the obsolete CEMET circuit. The satellite-based telecommunicationsystem permits not only the transmission and reception of meteorologicaldata but also the provision of a series of products from forecast models,and information needed in the alert and warning services. Agrometeorologicaland marine forecasts have improved noticeably since the beginning of theProject.