More Hearty City Temperatures

Thursday, 22 April 2004, 1:55 pm
Press Release: MetService

News Release from MetService

MetService engineers have installed new temperature-reading stations close to heart of both Napier and New Plymouth cities. Readings are being made available for presentation on TV in the evening, helping people compare the daily high temperatures around the nation.

MetService has many of its weather stations at airports where wide-open spaces provide an unobstructed outlook that is guaranteed to last for decades. For aviation purposes the measurements of temperature, pressure and humidity are necessary for calculating air-density and aircraft take-off weight. However, it has often been noted that temperature readings taken from an airport do not always represent the warmth in the heart of a nearby city centre, and thus sometimes may give a false impression to people watching the daily highs around the nation as reported on TV.

Until now Councils and concerned citizens have been hindered by the cost of equipment and the logistics of having someone reliably on hand to make daily readings. A combination of new MetService technology and modern cellular data communications is set to change that.

The new MetService temperature stations that have recently been installed at Nelson Park in Napier and Webster Field in New Plymouth are affordable, high quality mSTAR units. They meet international observation standards and use Vodafone GPRS cellular communications to send reports as frequently as once a minute. Wireless communications, along with solar power supplies, enable mSTAR stations to be easily installed, without the need for expensive cabling.

"Citizens will see the benefits of a temperature reading near the city's centre, but as more and more communities follow suit the competition for 'today's high' is bound to continue," comments MetService Weather Ambassador, Bob McDavitt.

ENDS

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