Objectives

The Asia and Oceania regions are frequently affected by severe natural phenomena such as tropical cyclones, torrential monsoons, volcanic eruptions, yellow sand storms, floods, sea ice and wildfires. In addition, the importance of monitoring the climate and the environment is increasing, prompting enhanced global interest in the field. In this regard, meteorological and earth observation satellites provide frequent and extensive observational information for use in disaster prevention and climate monitoring/diagnostics, and are indispensable in today's world.

The history of meteorological satellites over Asia and Oceania began with the launch of the Geostationary Meteorological Satellite (GMS) in 1977. Now, China, Europe, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the United States all operate meteorological and climate monitoring satellites over Asia and Oceania, as part of the Global Observing System (GOS) promoted by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which contributes to the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) coordinated by the Group on Earth Observations (GEO).

To further enhance exchanges on application techniques among satellite data users as well as to advance satellite observation technologies and promote synergetic development related to meteorological satellites, the second Asia/Oceania Meteorological Satellite Users' Conference will be held in Japan in the footsteps of the successful first conference hosted by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA) last year.