bunia weather 2007 · “bunia & dungu weather”, (1st edition) was published by aero met sec,...

BANASU-12, MONUSCO Proud to serve for peace

PREFACE

Meteorology plays an important role in Aviation to help the pilot navigate the complexity of the atmosphere. The importance of Meteorological events is felt in various ways. Bunia & Dungu Aero Met Section are serving in UN since 15 Aug 2003 & 16 Aug 2010 respectively. These Sections have been providing weather forecast with utmost sincerity and limited resources for airfields and 20 miles around to make sure pilots can operate at their destination as safe and as smooth as possible. Aero Met Sec, Bunia & Dungu started recording and compiling daily, monthly and yearly various meteorological data in order to develop a comprehensive climate data base of Bunia & Dungu. Compiling all available data, a booklet named “Bunia & Dungu Weather”, (1st edition) was published by Aero Met Sec, BANASU-4 in 2007 and every year it has been kept on updating with the inclusion of latest data ranging from January to December till 2014. In 2012 the booklet renamed “Climate of Bunia” and published its 6th edition. It is expected that with a considerable period of time, this booklet would be used as reference of Climate of Bunia. At present, to give an appropriate name , this section endeavours to publish combinedly the Booklet with a slight correction naming as ‘Monologue of Bunia and Dungu Climate’ as 10 years data do not represent the actual climate. In continuation, this year (2015) the booklet is also published ( 9th edition) with the inclusion of all latest climate data ranging from January to December 2014. In addition, this booklet is also published first time in French Version for better understanding for the persons who take interest in weather.

ABDUR RAB CHOWDHURY Wing Commander OIC Aero Met Section BANASU-12, MONUSCO Bunia, DR Congo

i


ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is indeed a matter of great privilege and opportunity for all Aero Met Personnel of Bangladesh Air Force serving at Bunia and Dungu since 2003 and 2010 respectively. Because of its unique geographical location, peculiarity of weather and characteristics of DR Congo, the significance of weather forecast and weather information requires due importance. The Aeromet sections have the opportunity to provide weather information not only for military air operations, but also for MONUSCO and NON-MONUSCO civil air operations. Often, services are extended to RVA (Regie Des Voices Arienne’s) by these sections as a mark of good gesture. Besides weather forecasting, these sections recorded daily, monthly and yearly climate data since August 2003 and 2010 till to date. The booklets named “BUNIA WEATHER” were published its 1st to 5th edition from 2007 to 2012, 6th to 7th edition named as ‘CLIMATE OF BUNIA’ by the culmination of hard work of all the previous Aero Met personnel of BANASU. This year the booklet ‘BUNIA WEATHER’ has been renamed with slight correction and published its 9th edition as “MONOLOGUE OF BUNIA AND DUNGU CLIMATE” in 2015 as to justify the content of the booklet. It is sincerely acknowledged the effort of predecessors served from BANASU 1-12 for their praiseworthy job.

Aeronautical Met Section BANASU-12 MONUSCO Bunia, DR Congo

ii


CONTENTS

Figure/Table Description Page No

1 - Introduction 1

2 - Aim 1

3 Figure - 1

Topography and climate of the DR Congo

2

4 Figure - 2

Causes of rainfall and effect of ITCZ on DR Congo

3

5 Figure- 3 General Information of Bunia 4

6 Figure- 4 General Information of Dungu 5

7 - Data used for Bunia 6

8 - Histogram and Table for Bunia 6

Figure - 5 Monthly mean temperature 7

Figure - 6 Monthly mean (daily) maximum temperature 8

Figure - 7 Monthly highest maximum temperature 9

Figure - 8 Monthly mean (daily) minimum temperature 10

Figure - 9 Monthly lowest mean minimum temperature 11

Figure - 10 Monthly no of average rainy days 12

Figure - 11 Monthly total amount of average Rainfall(mm)

13

Figure - 12 Monthly no of average thunderstorm days 14

Figure - 13 Monthly no of days having temperature>300C 15

Figure - 14

Monthly no of days having temperature<150C

16

Figure - 15 Monthly no of average foggy days 17

Figure - 16 Monthly mean pressure 18

Figure - 17 Monthly highest mean maximum wind speed 19

9 Table - 1 Monthly maximum wind direction & speed 20

10 Table - 2 Monthly no of hailstorm days 20 11 Table - 3 Monthly wise total amount of rainfall 21

12 Table - 4 Monthly no of rainy days 21

13 Table - 5 Extreme weather elements 22

14 - Inference 23-24

15 - Data used for Dungu 25

iii


Figure/Table Description Page No

16 - Histogram and Table for Dungu 25

Figure - 18 Monthly mean temperature 26

Figure - 19 Monthly mean maximum temperature 27

Figure - 20 Monthly highest minimum temperature 28

Figure - 21 Monthly mean minimum temperature 29

Figure - 22 Monthly lowest minimum temperature 30

Figure - 23 Monthly number of average rainy days 31

Figure -24 Monthly total amount of average rainfall (mm) 32

Figure -25 Monthly frequency of thunderstorm 33

Figure -26 Monthly no of days with morning fog 34

Figure -27 Monthly mean pressure 35 Figure-28 Monthly highest maximum wind speeds 36

17 Inference (Dungu) 37-38

18 Limitations 39

19 Conclusion 39

iv


INTRODUCTION

1. Aeronautical Meteorological (Aero Met) Section is responsible to Contingent Commander, Bangladesh Airfield Services Unit (BANASU) for Meteorological services at Bunia & Dungu airfield and 20 miles around. It provides weather forecast to all flights operating from Bunia/Dungu as per laid down procedures of International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The Task and Duties & responsibilities are spelt out in Section- 6 of MONUSCO (former MONUC) SOP (Standard Operating Procedures) with a motto “Proud to Serve for Peace”. However, its main task is to take hourly weather observation, view satellite images from the internet source, consult Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model output etc to forecast accurately on time and recording climate data. Mentionable that, there are two Aero Met Section with professional personnel available under BANASU in Air Region-6 namely Bunia & Dungu in the northeast sector of DRC. Aero Met Section, Bunia started functioning since 15 August 2003 and Aero Met Section, Dungu since 16 August 2010. Being a pioneer Met Office, it conducted capsule training for non-met personnel serving in different contingents in Air Region-6, so that one can understand and able to disseminate the present weather condition easily as and when required. Due to non-availability of any charts like, surface pressure chart, upper air chart, constant pressure chart, pressure changes chart etc of DRC, these sections are to rely mainly on the hourly weather observation report (METAR) of different stations of DRC and the satellite images from internet as primary forecasting tools. Therefore, Short Range Forecast and Now-casting are possible with the available Met information. The significance of climate of a region is taken with due importance by the aviators and research fellows. Thereby, the average weather conditions of Bunia has been compiled and published its 9

th edition

as “MONOLOGUE OF BUNIA AND DUNGU CLIMATE” in 2015 as an attempt for easy understanding of weather pattern for the concerned people.

AIM

2. The aim of the booklet is to provide comprehensive statistical information of Bunia & Dungu weather.

1


TOPOGRAPHY AND CLIMATE OF THE DR CONGO

3. DR Congo is located in the central part of African Continent. The country extends with its border to the north at Lat 05°20’N, south at Lat. 13°23’S, east at Long 30°54’E and west at Long 12°20’E. The length along east-west is about 1,930km and north-south is about 2,100km and total area is about 23, 45,410 sq km. The Democratic Republic of Congo is located by the Congo River basin, which covers an area of almost 1,000,000 square kilometers (390,000 sq mi). The vast, low-lying central area is a basin-shaped plateau sloping toward the west, covered by the tropical rainforest and criss-crossed by rivers, a large area of this has been categorized by the World Wildlife Fund. The forest centre is surrounded by mountainous terraces in the west, plateaus merging into savannas in the south & southwest and dense grasslands extending beyond the Congo River in the north. High mountains of the Ruwenzori Range’s are found on the eastern boarders with Ruwanda and Uganda. The highest point is Pic Marguerite 5,110 meter on Rwenzori Range’s Mount Ngaliema (Mount Stanley) which remains snow-capped round the year. The DRC lies on the Equator, with one-third of the country to the north and two-thirds to the south. The climate is hot and humid in the river basin and cool & dry in the southern highlands, with a cold, alpine climate in the Ruwenzori Range. South of the Equator, the rainy season lasts from October to May and north of the Equator, from April to November. Along the Equator, rainfall is fairly regular throughout the year. During the wet season, thunderstorms often are violent but seldom last more than a few hours. The map of the DR Congo is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

2

.Dungu


CAUSES OF RAINFALL & EFFECT OF ITCZ ON DR CONGO

4. The most important component of climate is precipitation. Equatorial regions have extremely regular annual and inter-annual (short-term and long-term) patterns of rainfall. These regions include the rain forest areas of the Central African Republic, and parts of both the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The equatorial region has no real dry season and is constantly hot and humid. There are few air masses which shape the rainfall characteristics of tropical Africa. Sub-Saharan Africa (excluding the East African coast) gets its precipitation from tropical moist oceanic air that moves from the Atlantic and Indian Oceans toward an equatorial low pressure zone. This area is the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The ITCZ is also called the "climate equator". The Inter tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) is located in an area between 15 ° latitude both N and S of the equator. It is a place where north-east and south-east trade winds meet and together with incoming solar radiation they can create some serious convective weather. The ITCZ is part of the global circulation dividing the planets weather into the northern and southern hemisphere. This area is characterized by strong convective weather consisting of Cumulus and Cumulonimbus clouds with turbulence and heavy rain at times. The exact location varies with the seasons throughout the year. The position of ITCZ & occurrence of weather is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Position & Effect of ITCZ. 3


GENERAL INFORMATION OF BUNIA

5. Bunia lies on a high plateau in the northeast sector of DR Congo, about 32km northwest of Lake Albert. It is in the eastern part of Ituri District under Orientale Province. Bunia Airfield is located at Lat 01

034´N and Long 30

013´E

at an elevation of 4045ft. The ‘Lake Albert’ is the nearest water source covering from southeast to northeast while the smaller lake ‘Lake Edward’ is about 200 km south-southwest of Bunia. The airfield is surrounded by the hills in all directions. Bunia and its neighbouring area do not experience extreme weather due to its nearness to the Equator, and its weather is highly influenced by the merging of trade winds with ITCZ from both the hemispheres. Bunia and neighbouring area is shown in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Bunia and neighbouring area.

4


GENERAL INFORMATION OF DUNGU

6. Dungu is a town in Haut-Uele District under Orientale province. It is located at the confluence of the Dungu and Kibali Rivers where they join to form the Uele River. The town is divided into four main neighbourhoods: Uye (south), Mussa (south center), Ngilima (center) and Bamokandi (north). Dungu airfield is located in Dungu-Uye, at Lat 3°36''N and Long 28°54''E at an elevation of 725m/ 2378 ft. Dungu's terrain is wooded savannah, and it’s climate is tropical. There are two seasons in the North-Eastern part of DR Congo. One is Wet Season–April to November; another one is Dry Season- December to March. Dungu weather is highly influenced by the merging of trade winds with ITCZ from both the hemispheres. Dungu and neighbouring area is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: Dungu and neighbouring area. 5

MO

NT

HLY

ME

AN

PR

ES

SU

RE

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haut-Uele_District

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungu_River,_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kibali_River&action=edit&redlink=1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uele_River


DATA USED (BUNIA)

7. The source of data is the climate data base maintained by Aero Met Section, Bunia since 15 August 2003 to till date. However, for year wise average, 11 years data from 01 January 2004 to 31 December 2014 have been used in this study. Mentionable that, 0400UTC to 1500UTC data has been used mostly, while round the clock data have been used in case of rainy days, total amount of rainfall and thunderstorm days only. The following weather parameters are recorded as climate data:

a. Hourly air temperature or dry-bulb temperature (0C).

b. Daily maximum temperature (0C).

c. Daily minimum temperature (0C).

d. Monthly maximum temperature (0C).

e. Monthly minimum temperature (0C).

f. Monthly no of rainy days.

g. Monthly total amount of rainfall (mm).

h. Monthly no of thunderstorm days.

j. Time of occurrence of thunderstorm.

k. Monthly no of days having temperature more than 300C.

l. Monthly no of days having temperature less than 150C.

m. Monthly no of foggy days (visibility less than 1000m).

n. Monthly no of days having Broken (5-7 okta) low clouds below 1000ft.

p. Monthly mean pressure (mbs).

q. Monthly maximum wind direction and speed (kts).

r. Monthly hailstorm days.

HISTOGRAM AND TABLE (BUNIA)

8. For better apprehension, the average condition of weather elements like different types of recorded temperature, no of rainy days, total amount of rainfall, thunderstorm days, time of occurrence of thunderstorm, no of foggy days, no of days having broken (5-7 okta) low clouds, mean pressure etc are presented as histogram. Recorded extreme weather elements, monthly maximum wind direction & speed and hailstorm days are presented in the table.

6


7


8


9


10


11


12


13


14


15


16


17


18


19


9. Monthly Maximum Wind Direction & Speed (In kts) : Monthly Maximum Wind

Direction & Speed (In Kts) are shown in Table-1:

Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Mo

nth

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Directio

n

&

Speed

Jan 090/20 330/25 100/25 130/25 100/24 120/29 120/24 090/35 090/28 070/36 160/22

Feb 140/30 050/26 360/23 080/48 130/23 140/22 100/30 030/39 110/30 020/40 130/24

Mar 040/42 030/29 050/26 340/28 340/40 120/22 050/27 040/40 070/42 020/32 130/27

Apr 240/15 070/35 310/20 110/28 160/22 130/30 100/35 040/27 100/32 040/26 090/48

May 250/18 280/25 170/15 040/28 090/35 120/35 150/35 170/34 160/35 190/23 150/32

Jun 090/50 130/14 110/16 170/26 160/32 160/22 100/25 160/24 250/25 140/24 130/30

Jul 350/32 130/23 160/17 150/23 260/24 120/24 130/40 140/32 180/26 180/23 160/24

Aug 200/23 020/22 330/24 230/28 040/34 150/22 260/25 160/28 230/34 170/14 180/28

Sep 050/23 020/22 260/55 280/19 250/29 080/26 120/35 100/26 120/24 180/25 VRB/30

Oct 120/22 130/18 170/25 130/19 010/27 140/24 190/30 260/25 180/24 290/18 VRB/28

Nov 130/15 130/22 360/25 170/18 360/23 050/35 040/25 300/30 090/23 120/23 130/23

Dec 160/21 110/24 130/22 140/23 070/22 090/28 200/36 100/40 030/23 040/26 120/23

Table-1: Monthly maximum wind direction & speed.

10. Monthly Hailstorm Days. Monthly hailstorm days are shown in Table-2:

2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 TOTAL

Jan

- - 1 - - - - - - - - 1

Feb - - - - - 1 - 2 - - - 3

Mar 1 - 1 - - - - 1 - - 1 4

Apr - - - - - - - 1 - - - 1

May - - - - - - - - - - - 0

Jun 2 - - - - - - - - 1 - 3

Jul 1 - - - - - - - - - - 1

Aug - - - 1 - - - - - - - - 1

Sep - - - 1 - - - 1 1 - - 1 4

Oct - - - - - 1 - - - - - - 1

Nov 2 - - - 1 - - - - - - - 3

Dec - - - - 1 - - - - - - 1

2 4 - 4 1 2 1 1 5 - 1 2

GRAND TOTAL=23

Table-2: Hailstorm days

20


11. Rainfall : Month wise total amount of rainfall from 2004-2014 are shown in Table-3:

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Jan 77 82 20 35 110 111 89 42 018 153 024

Feb 46 30 25 35 79 67 111 85 045 018 017

Mar 95 94 84 61 181 78 90 89 072 232 174

Apr 145 36 71 236 107 70 92 132 088 108 086

May 161 117 101 43 121 48 136 57 074 064 093

Jun 78 190 89 230 101 81 76 107 104 081 080

Jul 165 86 131 205 93 3 36 113 170 096 088

Aug 173 147 102 308 148 89 182 183 082 119 053

Sep 121 173 74 84 68 142 61 66 093 125 090

Oct 165 72 166 70 142 112 129 79 097 102 091

Nov 80 42 172 147 169 115 73 126 099 137 139

Dec 69 44 124 55 93 129 47 73 140 047 045

Table-3: Monthly total rain fall ( in mm)

12. Rainy Days: Monthly number of rainy days from 2004-2014 are shown in Table-4:

Table-4: Monthly rainy days

21

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Jan 11 4 4 6 12 9 08 7 8 11 9

Feb 6 7 7 6 7 11 11 10 8 07 4

Mar 11 15 10 8 13 10 15 22 13 11 17

Apr 10 3 11 12 9 13 08 13 10 19 15

May 7 16 9 6 9 10 16 9 10 12 15

Jun 5 13 7 11 5 8 10 16 10 10 11

Jul 10 8 9 11 14 5 09 17 11 08 14

Aug 13 11 10 16 19 10 12 21 14 15 15

Sep 16 9 11 14 9 15 13 15 14 16 19

Oct 16 13 15 14 13 14 13 12 15 11 18

Nov 11 6 23 15 9 17 16 17 14 13 15

Dec 9 5 16 7 7 18 14 13 12 12 12


13. Extreme Weather. Some recorded extreme weather (Bunia) elements are listed below in Table-5:

Ser No

Met Element Value Time of

Occurrence

a Highest maximum temperature 35.30C 25 Feb 05

b Lowest minimum temperature 10.20C 27 Sep 07

c Monthly highest mean maximum temperature

32.30C Feb 13

d Monthly lowest mean minimum temperature

14.20C Jan 12

e Monthly highest rainfall 308 mm Aug 07

f Highest Rainfall in a day 077 mm 26 Mar 08

g Monthly lowest rainfall 003mm Jul 09

h Monthly maximum rainy days 23 days Nov 06

j Monthly minimum rainy days 03 days Jan 05

k Monthly maximum thunderstorm days

20 days Dec 11 & Oct 12

l Monthly minimum thunderstorm days

01 day 13 Jan 06

m Highest maximum wind 260/55kt 18 Sep 06

Table-5: Extreme weather elements (2004-2014)

22


INFERENCE

14. Due to close proximity to the equator and high elevation, Bunia does not experience extreme weather and more or less fairly distributed weather pattern persist throughout the year. However, last 11 years (2004-2014) various weather parameters are analyzed and discussed in the following paragraphs:

a. Monthly Mean Temperature. Monthly mean temperature is higher in the month of February, March, April & May having highest 24.28

0C in February and

lower in July, August, September, October & November having lowest 22.370C in

July. The variation of high and low value is around 20C. The time of observation

from 0400-1500UTC/ last landing is considered (Fig-5).

b. Monthly Mean (daily) Maximum Temperature. Monthly mean (daily) maximum temperature is higher in January, February, March & May having highest 30.62

0C in February. The variation of high and low values of mean (daily) maximum

temperature is about 20C (Fig-6).

c. Monthly Highest Mean Maximum Temperature. Monthly highest mean maximum temperature is 33.49

0C in February having highest recorded

temperature is 35.30C on 25 Feb 05 (Fig-7).

d. Monthly Mean (daily) Minimum Temperature. Monthly mean (daily) minimum temperature is observed in July, September, December & January having lowest recorded value is 16.47

0C in December and highest recorded value

is 18.250C in April (Fig-8).

e. Monthly Lowest Mean Minimum Temperature. Monthly lowest mean minimum temperature is 13.92

0C in October having recorded lowest minimum

temperature is 10.20C on 27 Sep 07 (Fig-9).

f. Monthly no of Mean Rainy Days. Monthly number of mean rainy days is 14-15 days in August, October& November, while it is 8 days in January. The recorded highest number of rainy days is 23 days in November 06 and lowest is 3 days in April 05.Mentionable that the no of rainy days are counted round the clock (Fig- 10 & Table-4).

g. Monthly Total Amount of Average Rainfall (mm). The total amount of average rainfall is 144 mm in August having highest rainfall is 308 mm in August 07. The lowest amount of average rainfall is 058 mm in February having lowest rainfall is 003 mm in July 09. The total amount of rainfall is counted round the clock (Fig-11 & Table-4).

23


h. Monthly no of Average Thunderstorm Days. Monthly no of average thunderstorm days is 14-15 days in September, while 7 days In February & June. The highest recorded number is 20 days in December 11 & October 12 and the lowest is only 01day in January 06. The thunderstorm days are counted round the clock (Fig-11 & Table-5).

2626

j. Monthly no of Days Having Temperature>300C. No of days having

temperature more than 300C is 15-18 days in January, March & May having

highest 18 days in February and less that is 3-4 days from July to November (Fig-13).

k. Monthly no of Days Having Temperature ≤150C. Monthly no of

days having temperature equal or less than 150C is nil in April and 1-2 days

from March to June, October & November and having highest 3-4 days in January(Fig-14).

l. Monthly Average no of Foggy Days. Monthly average no of foggy days is 1-2 days in each month having highest 2 days in October; while it is almost nil in February (Fig-15).

m. Monthly Mean Pressure. Monthly mean pressure is higher (1018-1019 mbs) from May - September and lowers (1016-1017mbs) from November to April. However, highest mean pressure is 1019.0 mbs in July and lowest mean pressure is 1016.0 mbs in February. The variation of high and low values is 3.0 mbs. The time of observation from 0400-1500UTC/ last landing is considered (Fig-16).

n. Monthly Highest Mean Maximum Wind Speed. Monthly highest mean maximum wind speed ranges from 24-32 kts is observed. However, recorded highest maximum is 55 knots on 18 September 06 (Fig-17 & Table-1).

p. Monthly Hailstorm Days. More or less, 1-2 hailstorm days in every month is uniformly distributed throughout the year. Recorded highest 4 hailstorm days in March & September are shown in Table-2.

q. Extreme Weather. Some unusual extreme weather elements are shown in Table-5.

24


DATA USED (DUNGU)

15. The source of data is the climate data base maintained by Aero Met Section, Dungu since 16 August 2010 to till date. However, for year wise average, 4 years data from 01 January 2011 to 31 December 2014 have been used in this study. Mentionable that, 0400UTC to 1500UTC data has been used mostly, while round the clock data have been used in case of rainy days, total amount of rainfall and thunderstorm days only. The following weather parameters are recorded as climate data:

a. Hourly air temperature or dry-bulb temperature (0C).

b. Daily maximum temperature (0C).

c. Daily minimum temperature (0C).

d. Monthly maximum temperature (0C).

e. Monthly minimum temperature (0C).

f. Monthly no of rainy days.

g. Monthly total amount of rainfall (mm).

h. Monthly no of thunderstorm days.

j. Monthly no of foggy days.

k. Monthly mean pressure (mbs).

l. Monthly highest maximum wind speed (kts).

HISTOGRAM AND TABLE (DUNGU)

16. For better apprehension, the average condition of weather elements like different types of recorded temperature, no of rainy days, total amount of rainfall, thunderstorm days, no of foggy days, mean pressure etc are presented as histogram.

25

Fig

-10 :

M

onth

ly N

um

ber

of

Day

s w

ith m

orn

ing f

og f

or

the

per

iod o

f 201

1-

2013


26


27


28


29


30


31


32


33


34


35


36


INFERENCE

17. Due to close proximity to the equator and high elevation, Dungu does not experience extreme weather and more or less fairly distributed weather pattern persist throughout the year. However, last 05 years (2010-2014) various weather parameters are analyzed and discussed in the following paragraphs:

a. Monthly Mean Temperature. Monthly mean temperature is higher in the month of February, March & April having highest 28.64

0C in April and lower in

July, August, October & December having lowest 24.740C in August. The variation

of high and low value is around 40C. The time of observation from 0400-1500UTC/

last landing is considered (Fig-18).

b. Monthly Mean Maximum Temperature. Monthly mean maximum temperature is higher in January, February, March & October having highest 35.00

0C in February. The variation of high and low values of mean maximum

temperature is about 50C (Fig-19).

c. Monthly Highest Maximum Temperature. Monthly highest maximum temperature is 39.5

0C in February (Fig-20).

d. Monthly Mean Minimum Temperature. Monthly mean minimum temperature is observed in December, February & November having lowest recorded value is 16.44

0C in December and highest recorded value is 19.89

0C in

January (Fig-21).

e. Monthly Lowest Minimum Temperature. Monthly lowest minimum temperature is 8.3

0C in May (Fig-22).

f. Monthly no of Average Rainy Days. Monthly number of Average rainy days is 18-23 days in April, September & October while it is 4 days in January. The recorded highest number of rainy days is 23 days in October and lowest is 4 days in January .Mentionable that the no of rainy days are counted round the clock (Fig- 23).

g. Monthly Total Amount of Average Rainfall (mm). The height amount of average rainfall is 309.5 mm in May & having lowest rainfall is 011 mm in January . The total amount of rainfall is counted round the clock (Fig-24).

37


h. Monthly no of Average Thunderstorm Days. Monthly no of average thunderstorm days is 15-17 days in April, May, September & October while 2-4 days In January, February & December . The highest recorded number is 17 days in September and the lowest is only 01day in January. The thunderstorm days are counted round the clock (Fig-25).

2626

j. Monthly Average no of Foggy Days. Monthly average no of foggy days is 1-2 days in each month having highest 8 days in August; while it is almost nil or 1 day in March (Fig-26).

k. Monthly Mean Pressure. Monthly mean pressure is higher (1016-1018 mbs) from May - September and lowers (1014-1015mbs) from November to March. However, highest mean pressure is 1018.15 mbs in August and lowest mean pressure is 1013.5 mbs in February. The variation of high and low values is 5.0 mbs. The time of observation from 0400-1500UTC/ last landing is considered (Fig-27).

l. Monthly Highest Mean Maximum Wind Speed. Monthly highest mean maximum wind speed ranges from 25-35 kts is observed. However, recorded highest maximum is 67 knots on October (Fig-28).

38


LIMITATIONS

18. Weather watch/keeping record is a constant and continuous process but as per MONUSCO SOP, Aero Met Section, Bunia & Dungu are responsible to watch and keep records of the weather observation from sunrise to sunset/last landing. Hourly METAR (Meteorological Aviation Report) or SPECI (Special weather report) are recorded from 0400UTC to 1500UTC and extended up to 1800UTC during night flying. The statistical information of Bunia & Dungu weather of last 11 years (Bunia) & 4 years(Dungu) do not represent the overall climate data. Non-availability of any surface and upper air observations and charts is one of the prime limitations to analyze and track the development of weather.

CONCLUSION

19. Despite many limitations, Aero Met Section, Bunia & Dungu render the weather services satisfactorily to all MONUSCO and non-MONUSCO flights operating from Bunia & Dungu since 15 August 03 & 16 August 10 respectively. Besides, this section imparts basic training to different contingent members and University students of Bunia as and when required. Meanwhile, considering the significance of weather data base of Bunia & Dungu have been developed and since 2007 till 2014(1

st – 5

th edition) the booklet named “Bunia Weather” were

published with a view to find out an average weather pattern. The booklet “Bunia weather” has been renamed and published its 6th edition as “Climate of Bunia” in 2012. Though the statistical information of any station of 11 years or so do not represent the overall climate data, but it will invariably act as a ladder to prepare a climatic info (30 years average) in days to come. Keeping it view, this year 2015, It is again renamed and published its 8

th edition as “MONOLOGUE OF

BUNIA AND DUNGU CLIMATE”.

39


CHIEF AIR OPERATION AIR REGION-6 BUNIA , DR CONGO

MESSAGE FROM CHIEF AIR OPERATION

It is a great pleasure for me to know that Aero met sec, Bunia is going to publish a booklet, “Monologue of Bunia and Dungu Climate”- 9th edition 2014. I am delighted to see the timely publication of the booklet portraying the professionalism, enthusiasm and hard-work of members of this section with pictorial depictions of different weather elements. I am sure that this booklet will open up window for the aviators in aviation planning and people who takes interest in weather as reference for research work. Despite many limitations, Aero Met Section, Bunia & Dungu render the weather services satisfactorily to all MONUSCO and non-MONUSCO flights operating from Bunia & Dungu since 15 August 03 & 16 August 10 respectively. This section started operating without having any reference or information regarding weather of Bunia and Dungu. Within the last 11 years, Aero Met sec has made a remarkable yardstick publishing booklets on preceding Weather activities of Bunia and Dungu respectively. I would like to congratulate all the associated members of Aero Met Section who worked hard sincerely at every stage for publishing the booklet, “Monologue of Bunia and Dungu Climate”. Best of luck.

HOWARD MITI Chief Air Ops Air Region-6, Bunia

bunia weather 2007 · “bunia & dungu weather”, (1st edition) was published by aero met sec,...

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