News Release from MetService
More Hearty City Temperatures
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