 | Project Rain Gauge | Jan 30, 2009 |
Description
Project Rain Gauge is a project of SMART Schools Program of SMART Communications, Inc. (SMART) and the klima Climate Change Center of the Manila Observatory.
The project aims to engage communities nationwide to scientifically and regularly measure and record rainfall observations, and to send the resulting data via website to a database.
Importance of Rainfall Monitoring
Rainfall rate and quantity interact with many other factors to influence erosion, vegetative cover, groundwater recharge, stream water chemistry and runoff of nonpoint source pollution into streams.
Rainfall observations from various sites are especially significant in the Philippines because of the country's mountainous terrains and islands. The Philippines is vulnerable to extreme rainfall events, i.e., droughts and excessive rain. These events have had significants impacts on the different sectors of the society (e.g. agriculture and energy) and on society itself (e.g. when rainfall triggered landslides occur). Hence, it is critical to monitor rainfall amounts especially in the light of future climate change. Unfortunately, data from global models and the existing limited number of ground stations do not capture the fine-scale rainfall patterns necessary to describe the local climate. The addition of rain gauges in different parts of the country is valuable for rainfall monitoring.
