By Mohammed Osman

DOHA: Highways in Qatar will soon see electronic digital boards displaying daily weather forecasts and information about changing weather conditions Minister of Transport and Communications H E Jassim Seif Ahmed Al Sulaiti said yesterday.

The first billboard is expected to be installed on Dukhan Road.

The Minister inaugurated Gulf Marine Centre in Al Wakrah that provides weather forecasts and warnings for marine navigation in the region covering the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman up to Gulf of Aden.

“We promise you this will not be the last achievement. Our meteorology section will keep developing and before the end of this year you will see digital boards on the main roads of Qatar” Al Sulaiti said on the sidelines.

“We are about to fix the first billboard on the main road of Dukhan followed by other main roads” he said.

The digital boards will provide information related to temperature and forecast warnings for motorists about sudden changes in the weather condition especially drop in visibility levels he said.

“This will help Qatar have an integrated information system that will also pave the way to making Doha a smart city” he added.

Abdullah bin Nasser Turki Al Subaye Chairman Civil Aviation Authority and officials from the transportation and communication sectors attended the event.

Al Sulaiti said work on the marine centre project started two years ago and the facility is ready to serve the whole Gulf region up to the Indian Ocean providing necessary information and analyses.

The centre is the first of its kind in the region specialised in marine data collection and production and can serve marine navigation with up-to-date information and warnings to all types of ships — commercial civil and military — moving within the area of coverage said Al Subaye.

Abdullah Mohammed Al Mannai Director Meteorology Department said the centre has been recognised by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and World Safety Organisation (WSO) to serve the region. The region was served before by a similar centre based in Pakistan and Qatar has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pakistan to transfer the tasks to the centre he added.

The facility has also been accredited by the GCC Committee for Meteorology to prepare marine data and analyses in collaboration with other such centres in the region.

Beneficiaries in Qatar and the Gulf countries will see qualitative improvements in weather forecast while marine navigators in the Arab Gulf and Gulf of Eden can have access to its services online he added.

Beneficiaries include oil and gas companies the Ministry of Interior Coast Guards ports and authorities in charge of environment affairs.

The centre operates under Civil Aviation Authority.

Al Mannai said the first weather analysis in Qatar was made in 1949 and official and regular observation of weather conditions started in 1962 with the establishment of Doha International Airport meteorology station.

Qatar became a member of WMO in April 1975 and later a member of the Arab league’s Permanent Committee for Meteorology he added. The Peninsula