Fifth Weather Observatory to be Established in Maafaru as Maldives Joins Global Monitoring Effort
The government has confirmed that the fifth weather observatory in the Maldives will be established in Noonu Atoll Maafaru, as part of a broader national effort to strengthen the country’s meteorological infrastructure.
Inception workshop for SOFF funded UNEP investment phase was kicked off today.
This milestone marks the mobilization of resources towards establishing Global Basic Observation Network compliancy across Maldives – including a new weather observatory at N. Maafaru. pic.twitter.com/6RdVbNLenw— Maldives Meteorology (@MetMaldives) June 3, 2025advertisement
The Maldives Meteorological Service (MET Office), in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has launched a large-scale initiative to align the Maldives with the Global Observing System standards. This initiative falls under the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF), which is managed by the United Nations Multiparty Trust Fund (UNMTF) and supported by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The MET Office announced on social media that the inception workshop for the UNEP-funded investment phase of the SOFF programme commenced on Tuesday, 3 June. The workshop marks the beginning of a four-year programme aimed at upgrading equipment and capacity at existing weather observatories.
Under the initiative, all four existing weather observatories in the Maldives will receive upgraded equipment. The programme will also enhance the radiosonde tracking system located at the Addu weather observatory. In addition to infrastructure improvements, training sessions will be conducted to build technical capacity among personnel engaged in weather forecasting operations.
The inception workshop was attended by representatives from the MET Office and UNEP. A team of 40 technical experts from the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) and the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) also participated, providing consultation and support in the planning and implementation stages of the initiative.
