North Korean leader warns weather forecasters

How would you like to be a meteorologist in North Korea these days?

North Korean leader North Korean leader Kim Jong Un payed a visit recently to the Hydro-meteorological Service in Pyongyang. His message?

Stop getting the forecasts wrong.

N Korea met 1
The Rodong Sinmun

In a hard to decipher story from North Korean state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun, photos show a red-faced Kim appearing to lecture meteorologists at the Hydro-meteorological Service in Pyongyang.

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Here's a snippet from the Vancouver Sun.

Kim, the third generation of his family to rule, is using his position atop the authoritarian country to warn meteorologists against the “many incorrect forecasts” caused by old observation systems.

It remains to be seen whether Kim’s field guidance trip to the state-run Hydro-Meteorological Service, reported by state media Tuesday, will lead to more accurate weather predictions. But it was a rare official acknowledgment by proud but impoverished North Korea of its struggles with outdated technology. 

The country’s frequent natural disasters, like droughts and flooding, are believed to have worsened chronic food shortages.

Kim, who took power after the December 2011 death of his father, Kim Jong Il, was said by state media to have toured forecasting, communications and satellite rooms “to learn in detail about meteorological observation and weather forecast.”

Kim said there had been “many incorrect forecasts as the meteorological observation has not been put on a modern and scientific basis,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He added that the country needed proper meteorological observations in order to protect people and property from disaster.

N Korea met 2
The Rodong Sinmun

It's hard to glean exactly what the tone and message is from a state run news account, but I find some interesting elements here.

Kim clearly acknowledges the importance of accurate weather forecasts for the protection of life and property and the high economic value of weather forecasting. Here's a clip from the North Korean state run news source, The Rodong Sinmun.

He said that there are many incorrect forecasts as the meteorological observation has not been put on a modern and scientific basis, adding that only when meteorological observation and forecast are done properly, is it possible to protect the lives and properties of the people from disasters caused by the abnormal climatic phenomenon and prevent various fields of national economy including agriculture and fishery from natural disasters in good time.

"It is necessary to fundamentally improve the work of the Hydro-meteorological Service in order to scientifically clarify meteorological and climatic conditions and provide accurate data for weather forecast and meteorological and climatic information required by various fields of national economy in good time", he noted.

He underscored the need to raise the responsibility of researchers and forecast persons and firmly build scientific and technical forces as hydro-meteorological service is a very important work directly affecting the overall economic affairs of the country.

He stressed the need to intensify the scientific researches to ensure the accuracy of short-, intermediary- and long-term forecast and conduct brisk scientific and technological exchanges with various countries of the world.

He called on the service to rapidly and kindly provide information about weather's influence upon the people's life, health, transport, etc. in diverse methods.

Economic value of weather forecasts

Various studies of the economic value of weather forecasting in the United States range from $4 billion annually to tens or hundreds of billions. The Polar Vortex is a reminder that the economic impact of weather on our economy is immense.

economic impact of weather

It's fascinating (and unnerving at times) to see how many people take weather forecasting for granted, or malign meteorologists. It's also fascinating to see how a country that has historically poor technology and operations recognizes that robust and accurate weather forecasting operations have immense value to their nation's economy and safety.

Stay tuned on this one.