For a year now, volunteer teachers and students from partner
schools under the Smart Schools Program have been monitoring rainfall in their
respective localities using rain gauges situated within their school grounds.
From a starting number of 17 pilot schools, a total of 50 public high schools
are now participating in what is called Project Rain Gauge.
Project Rain Gauge is a joint undertaking of Smart
Communications, Inc. (SMART) and Manila Observatory’s KLIMA Climate Change
Center, in cooperation with Pagasa and the Department of Education.
Project Rain Gauge aims to spark awareness in the study of
earth science by building online meteorological data provided by a network of
public high schools who monitor and record rainfall observations around the
country. It also assists in disaster preparedness by providing community-based
early warning system for possible natural disasters like landslides and flash
floods.
Project Rain Gauge aims to create a network of ground stations across the
country via Smart Schools to provide supplementary data on local rainfall
measurement in specific areas. Rainfall observations performed and recorded by
the schools can be used to determine fine-scale rainfall patterns necessary to
describe local climate, and for more accurate weather reporting and forecasting
in local communities.
