INFO Last updated on  15 JUL 2021                                                                PDF Version - Printable

GEN 3.5   METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES

RESPONSIBLE SERVICE(S)

1.1  

The meteorological services for civil aviation are provided by the Department of Meteorology under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Human Rights.

    The Director General,

    Department of Meteorology,

    383, Bauddhaloka Mawatha,

    Colombo7,

    Sri  Lanka

    Tel            : 94-11-2694104

                      94-11-2694846

    Tele Fax    : 94-11-2698311

    E-mail       : meteo1@sltnet.lk               

1.2 

The service is provided in accordance with the provisions contained in the following ICAO documents:

   ANNEX 3  -  Meteorological Services for International Air Navigation.

   DOC7030  - Regional Supplementary Procedures part 3-Meteorology.

Differences to these provisions are detailed in sub section GEN 1.7

AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY

Area meteorological watch is provided for the Colombo FIR.

METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AND REPORTS

TABLE GEN 3.5.3  METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AND REPORTS

TYPES OF SERVICES

4.1

The Meteorological Office and Meteorological Watch Office at KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport Colombo operates throughout the twenty-four hours (H24) and provide following services for Civil Aviation

a) Meteorological services for pre-flight/current operational planning for all flights operating  out of KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport Colombo by means of:

(I)     Flight documentation and / or

II)    Displays;

 b) Area meteorological watch over the Colombo FIR with the supply of meteorological  information including SIGMET information to aircraft in flight through ATS radio channels. (See Subsection  VCBI AD 2);

  c) Supply hourly weather reports with trend-type landing forecasts at (H+10UTC) for the Mumbai METAR ROBEX Bulletin.

d)  Supply of hourly weather reports with trend-type landing forecasts at (H+40UTC) for VOLMET  Broadcasts.

  e)  Supply of meteorological information for ATS.

Meteorological consultation or briefing by a Meteorologist is always available at the Meteorological Office at KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport Colombo either on telephone or in person.

In addition self-briefing display facility is always available for the crewmembers at the MET Briefing Office located in terminal building.

Routine aerodrome forecasts received from other meteorological offices are normally included in meteorological documentation without modification. When a required aerodrome forecast is not received, the Meteorological Office providing the documentation may issue a provisional forecast

Details of documentation supplied for each flight are determined by agreement between operator and the Meteorological Office. In general, the pilot-in-command is provided with documentation comprising a fixed time prognostic streamline / isotach / spot temperature chart for the isobaric surface of 250hpa, fixed time prognostic significant weather chart and forecasts for take-off, climb and descent and appropriate aerodrome forecasts in TAF code form.

After documentation has been issued and until take-off (that is, the latest estimated time of departure notified to the Meteorological Office), the Meteorological Office at KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport Colombo makes available, amendments to the documentation. It is the responsibility of the operator's local representatives or the pilot-in-command to obtain any pre-departure amendment(s) from the Meteorological Office. The pilot-in-command may request pre-departure amendment(s) through the aerodrome control tower.

Climatological Summaries based on observation over a period of 25 years or longer are available for the following airport meteorological stations.

   a)  KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl.Airport Colombo  (VCBI-43450)

   b)   RATMALANA / Colombo Intl. Airport Ratmalana  (VCCC-43467)

   c)   KANKESANTURAI / Jaffna (VCCJ-43400)

Applications for climatological summaries should be made to

     The Director General,

      Department of Meteorology,

   383, Bauddhaloka  Mawatha,     Colombo7, Sri Lanka.

      e-mail: meteo1@sltnet.lk

 NOTIFICATION REQUIRED FROM OPERATORS.

It is the responsibility of the operator's local representative or the pilot-in-command to notify the meteorological office of any flight for which meteorological documentation is required (Refer ICAO Annex 3, para 2.3). As much prior notices as possible should be given and at least 1¹/₂ hours notice would be required for non-scheduled flights. Personnel briefing by a forecaster is always available at the meteorological office at KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport Colombo.

AIRCRAFT REPORTS REQUIRED FROM OPERATORS.

Aircraft meteorological observations shall be made at ATS/MET reporting points within Colombo FIR, and recorded in sections I and III of the AIREP form and transmitted in flight by all aircraft except when;

               a)   the flight duration is less than 2 hours.

               b)   the altitude of the flight path is less than 5000ft, or;

               c)   the aircraft is less than 1 hour’s flying time from the next intended point of landing.

The ATS/MET reporting points referred to in para 6.1 are listed below with the relevant ATS routes.     

The completed AIREP form shall be handed over to the meteorological office Post-flight with the least possible delay.

Pilots encountering low level wind shear shall report to the ATC as soon as possible.

Pilots, when reporting wind shear on radiotelephony are required to transmit the information in the following order

     a)  Aircraft Call sign;

     b)  Wind Shear Report;

     c)  Time of occurrence;

     d)  Position of occurrence.

     e)  Intensity ( moderate, strong or  severe) 

     f)  Average height of wind shear layer

On receipt of a wind shear report from a pilot, the ATC will pass that information to all aircraft in the vicinity.

VOLMET SERVICE.

VOLMET service not available.

SIGMET SERVICE

General

For the safety of the air traffic, the Meteorological Authority maintains an area meteorological watch and warning service. This service  consist  partly of a continuous weather watch within the FIR  and issuance of appropriate information (SIGMET) by Meteorological watch office and partly of the issuing of warnings for KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport Colombo

Area Meteorological watch Service

The area meteorological watch service is performed by the Meteorological watch office at KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport

The MWO at KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport Colombo issues information in the form of SIGMET messages about the occurrence or expected occurrence of oneor several of the following significant met  

    -   thunder storm

    -   tropical cyclone

    -  severe turbulence

    -    severe icing

    -  severe mountain waves

    -    heavy sand storm/dust storm

    -    volcanic ash cloud

The SIGMETS are issued in abbreviated plain language using ICAO abbreviations and are respectively numbered consecutively for each day commencing at 0001. Their period of validity is generally limited to less than 4 hours from the time of transmission.

Warning Service

Aerodrome warnings may be issued by the aerodrome MWO for the protection of parked and moored aircraft or of other equipment at BIA, if one or several of the following phenomena are expected to occur at the airport;

      -    squall

      -  thunderstorm

      -    hail

      -    tornado

      -    Tropical cyclone**

      -    horizontal visibility and/or RVR of  800 meters or less.

      -    mean surface wind speed of 25 knots or more.

      -    wind gusts of 35 knots or more

      -  cloud BKN or OVC amount with base 500ft or less.

      -    wind gusts of 35 knots or more.  -  cloud BKN or OVC amount with base 500ft or less.

 8.3.2 

The warnings are issued in English and are distributed in accordance with a distribution list, which has to be agreed upon locally. In order to guarantee rapid dissemination of the warnings, the distribution list to be used shall, as far as possible, contain only one recipient for an interested group; this recipient will be responsible for the further dissemination of the warning within the group.

    TABLE GEN 3.5.8 - SIGMET SERVICE

 8.3.3

SIGMET is disseminated by direct transmission to the aircraft in flight through general calls by the Colombo ACC within Colombo FIR.

Note :

             *  Area widespread cumulonimbus clouds or cumulonimbus along a line (squall line) with little or no space between individual clouds, and cumulonimbus embedded in cloud or obscured by haze. 

            ** The warning is designated as "storm warning" and will be issued when the mean speed of surface wind is  expected to exceed 34kt (Beaufort Scale 8)  or when gusts in excess of  41kt ( Beaufort Scale 9) are  expected  to occur.

9. 

OTHER   AUTOMATED       METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES

9.1

ATIS Broadcast Service provided at KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport Colombo(VCBI) .  (Ref. Sub section  GEN 3.4-3, para 3.4)

 9.1.1

Through ATIS, the authenticated METAR by Meteorological Dept. and any other manual insertion texts from ATC will be automatically converted to voice and transmitted omni directionally through VHF on FREQ 127.2 MHZ at 50W power. Hence the meteorological data message and ATIS message in combination can be heard by the pilots of aircraft within the VHF coverage approximately 100NM from BIAC.   

 9.2

At  KATUNAYAKE / Bandaranaike Intl. Airport Colombo (VCBI), in addition to the complete Meteorological   Observation system located 500m away from the RWY cenreline   at 04 approach end and maintained by Meteorological Dept., a fully Automated  Airport Weather Observation System (AWOS) is also located at the Navigational Complex (NSC).The meteorological sensors located at both approach ends close to landing threshold generate meteorological data such as Wind (Speed and Direction), Barometric Pressure, Temperatures (including Dew Point), Visibility and Ceilometer reading. These sensors  transmit data to the NSC to process to form the METAR messages. This in turn transmitted through AFTN.