Benefits of meteorological services in South Eastern Europe. An assessment of potential benefits in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Moldova and Montenegro

The study evaluated the impacts and potential benefits of meteorological and hydrological information services in Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, FYR Macedonia, Moldova and Montenegro. The services were analysed for the sectors of transport, construction industry, energy production, flood protection and agriculture production. The study was part of a larger project for the development of weather and climate observation networks and meteorological services in South Eastern Europe countries. In Albania advanced meteorological information services would produce annual savings worth 24 to 26 million . In Bosnia-Herzegovina the potential annual benefits were estimated to be about 10 to 22 million , in the FYR Macedonia 12 to 40 million and in Moldova 12 to 19 million per year. For Montenegro the data available did not enable the differentiation from Serbia for aviation and agriculture sectors. For road transport, construction industry and flood protection the annual savings resulting from better hydrometeorological information would be 1 to 3 million . Due to the lack of source information only part of the approximate potential benefits could be estimated at magnitude level, even though, the results show that hydrometeorological services are beneficial and worth developing further. The benefits are to a large extent due to higher predictability rates and better planning of operations as well as better preparedness for accidents and the reduction of human and material losses caused by these accidents. The realisation of the potential benefits requires comprehensive development of the hydro-meteorological service systems. This means further development of observation infrastructure, data and transmission systems as well as service processes, operation models and know-how. Not only should the services be developed, but their availability and usability should be improved. The utilisation of communications technology should be enhanced and the awareness of the benefits of various services should be raised.