More about BOM weather stations and CSIRO research

More about BOM weather data and CSIRO research

Across Australia and its territories BOM operates around 40 staffed offices and coordinates a surface synoptic network of around 900 sites where weather observations are made several times a day. A variety of weather phenomena are recorded at these sites, including temperature,

, , pressure, sunshine, , and visibility. The majority of stations in the BOM's network do not observe all weather phenomena, and the elements observed at any particular station may change over time. These sites include around 600 automatic weather stations that record measurements at more frequent intervals, 24 hours a day.

Weather balloons are used at selected BOM staffed stations (most of which are located near airports) to measure

in the upper atmosphere, with many of the balloons also carrying sensors to record pressure, temperature, and . These observations, combined with a variety of other platforms such as satellites, aircraft, and ships give a three dimensional snapshot of the atmosphere.

The BOM manages over 7000 volunteers who provide

observations (including nearly 3000 who report in real time). This does not include the vast warning network of and river height gauges operated jointly by BOM with local and state government partners. In QLD alone there are over 1000 of these stations, with the majority owned by non-BOM agencies.

CSIRO and BOM work closely together to advance Australia's

research and to re the global models that Australian scientists contribute to the IPCC system of peer-reviewed science.

 

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