The United Nations has warned that growing radio frequency interference could threaten weather forecasting, climate monitoring and early warning systems that governments rely on to prepare for environmental hazards.
The International Telecommunication Union and World Meteorological Organization said on Monday that radio frequencies used by meteorological and environmental monitoring systems need stronger protection as wireless and satellite communications expand.
Some scientific sensors detect extremely weak natural signals at specific frequencies. Interference from other communications services can disrupt those measurements, reducing the quality or availability of data used to monitor the atmosphere, oceans and land.
The agencies said such disruptions could affect weather forecasts and early warning alerts, potentially making it harder for authorities and communities to prepare for severe weather and other environmental risks.
Experts from the two organisations are meeting in Geneva this week for a seminar focused on protecting the radio spectrum used by weather, climate and water services. They are calling on governments and national regulators to ensure that critical frequencies remain available without harmful interference.
ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin said satellites continuously monitor changes in the atmosphere and oceans, while radar systems track storms as they develop.
She pointed to a powerful Nor’easter storm that affected the northeastern United States during the weekend, causing power outages and at least one death, as an example of the importance of timely weather information.
“Interference-free spectrum keeps weather forecasts accurate, emergency alerts and warnings timely and climate data reliable,” Bogdan-Martin said, adding that preventing harmful interference was a public safety issue.
The frequency bands are used by a wide range of systems, including weather radar, lightning detection networks, aircraft and marine observation equipment and hydrological monitoring services. Data gathered by these systems supports forecasting, emergency response and longer-term assessments of climate conditions.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said weather systems produce faint natural signals that can be detected by specialised instruments, while radar sends signals and analyses the echoes returned from storms.
She said the relationship between the physical properties of water droplets and ice crystals in clouds and the frequencies used by monitoring systems allows scientists to gather information that is not available through other parts of the radio spectrum.
The agencies said increasing demand for radio frequencies from wireless, satellite and other communication services is creating greater potential for conflicts with scientific and environmental uses.
The concern is particularly significant because many monitoring systems depend on precise measurements of very weak signals. Even interference that does not completely block a signal can affect the accuracy of observations.
The UN agencies are therefore urging governments and regulators to account for meteorological and environmental requirements when allocating spectrum, arguing that maintaining reliable access to these frequencies is important for public safety, disaster preparedness and climate monitoring.
