RIMES utilises research products available from global climate centres for improving resolution and lead time of forecast products resulting in longer-lead, high-resolution, site-specific hydro-meteorological risk information, required for contingency planning and resource management.
RIMES facilitates generation and application of high-resolution weather information through:
- Development and pilot application of 10-day weather forecast
- Downscaling of global numerical products for improving lead times of forecast products
- Development of customised forecast products
RIMES WRF forecast products are provided daily, on-demand, to NMHSs of 23 member countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chad, Comoros, Djibouti, India, Kenya, Lao PDR, Madagascar, Maldives, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Seychelles, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Tonga, and Yemen
RIMES' Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) model, originally developed at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), is customized over the African and Asian regions for a horizontal grid spacing of 9x9 km, with 5-minute topography as one of the surface boundary conditions. The model uses the US National Center for Environmental Prediction’s Global Forecast System (NCEP GFS) products as initial and boundary conditions for generating daily weather information, with up to 84 hours of lead time. Model configuration is as follows:
| Model domain: | 19.43°E – 150.61°E 18.04°S – 50.87°N Horizontal resolution: 9km x 9km |
| Initial conditions: | NCEP GFS analyses and forecasts products |
| Integration period: | 84 hours starting 12UTC daily |
| Post-processed outputs: | Wind, geopotential height, the temperature at standard levels, and rainfall |