Weather co-operation to boost traffic safety

The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) is participating in a two-year project aimed at enhancing traffic safety and environmental-friendly approaches along the E18 Road in the border areas of Russia and Finland, said an FMI press release.

Weather has a great impact on road transport safety in general, especially in harsh winter conditions. Therefore, high-quality road weather information is a prerequisite for ensuring smooth and safe travel.

Within the CBC Green Inter-Traffic Project, road weather services along E18 have been developed together with Russian project partners. Road weather observations and forecasts are feasible for all road users, freight transport, tourists and citizens living in the border area.

As a result of the co-operation between the FMI, the Institute of Radar Meteorology (IRAM), the Saint Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other project partners, road weather information is more feasible, as all information is gathered on the project webpage.

Road weather products include, for example, air temperature and road surface temperature observations and forecasts. News casting along the Road E18 is updated every 10 minutes.

One significant example of the close co-operation is exchange of road weather and radar data between the FMI and IRAM to benefit the project work.

“For the first time, road weather observations, radar data and forecasts have been exchanged between Finland and Russia along the Road E18 to this extent, according to our knowledge,” said FMI Account Manager Ida-Reetta Virranjoki.

The project work continues furthermore by developing precipitation forecasts which are beneficial during snowfall in winter and heavy rain or thundershowers during the summertime.

The forecasts are based on weather radar data from both Finnish and Russian radar network. The project partners are also preparing educational lectures for stakeholders in order to increase their knowledge on the newly developed services and methods.

Traffic emissions and their effect on air quality are also assessed in the Green InterTraffic Project launched in December 2018.

“Foundations for sustainable development are established in this project that aims to enhance environment friendly cross-border traffic,” said FMI Project Manager Emmi Laukkanen.