Last week I presented some preliminary results of a project in a hydro-meteorology session of the European Geophysical Union (vEGU21) conference. In this project, we are assessing the value of citizen weather observations to monitor drought in here in the Netherlands (yes, it’s dry here too).
Weather observations are typically collected by professional devices siting in open spaces. These weather stations provide very precise measurements, but they also require a regular maintenance and calibration of the sensors, which implies a high cost for national weather services.
If you reached here by chance, just be sure of reading the first part of the post first, in which we explain why a Drought Monitor is necessary. In this second part, you can find a longer description of the technical aspects of the development of this prototype.
The Netherlands is a country in a constant battle with increasing water levels, especially since the 14th century. Canals, dykes, and polders are part of the landscape and intrinsically rooted in the Dutch culture.