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| National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMEH) | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMEH) |
| Native name | Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología |
| Formed | 1965 |
| Jurisdiction | Venezuela |
| Headquarters | Caracas |
National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMEH) is Venezuela's principal agency for atmospheric and hydrological observation, forecasting, and research. It operates at the intersection of operational services and scientific inquiry, supporting civil protection, agriculture, aviation, and water resource management. INAMEH coordinates with regional and global institutions to deliver meteorological products and to develop capacity in climate and hydrology.
INAMEH traces institutional roots to earlier services linked with Simón Bolívar International Airport, Caracas, La Salle, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Ministerio del Ambiente, and regional observatories established during the 19th and 20th centuries. Key historical milestones relate to collaborations with World Meteorological Organization, Pan American Health Organization, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Development Programme, and bilateral ties with agencies such as National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Météo-France, UK Met Office, and Deutsche Wetterdienst. INAMEH’s modernization accelerated alongside projects involving Inter-American Development Bank, European Union, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and United States Agency for International Development to upgrade networks, computing, and training.
INAMEH is organized into technical divisions, regional centers, and administrative units that interface with entities like Ministerio del Poder Popular para el Ecosocialismo, Instituto Nacional de Desarrollo Rural, Instituto Venezolano de Investigaciones Científicas, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Universidad de Los Andes (Venezuela), and sectoral users including Instituto Nacional de Tierras and Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (Venezuela) affiliates in states such as Zulia, Táchira, Bolívar (state), Aragua, and Miranda (state). Its leadership liaises with national authorities including Presidencia de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela and regional disaster offices like Protección Civil.
INAMEH provides operational forecasts, early warnings, climatological services, hydrological bulletins, and specialized products for aviation, marine, agriculture, and urban planning in coordination with Instituto Nacional de Aeronáutica Civil, Dirección General de Aviación Civil, Armada Bolivariana, Comisión Nacional de Aguas, Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología users and economic sectors such as Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., Corporación Venezolana de Guayana, Fundación Museos Nacionales, and Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología stakeholders. Services include daily synoptic charts, seasonal outlooks, drought monitoring, flood forecasting, and climate normals used by Banco Central de Venezuela, Ministerio del Poder Popular para la Agricultura y Tierras, CENDA, and research centers.
INAMEH undertakes research on tropical meteorology, convective systems, Andes orography impacts, Caribbean interactions, and Atlantic variability, collaborating with Centro de Estudios del Mar Caribe, Instituto de Geofísica de Venezuela Simón Bolívar, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, National Center for Atmospheric Research, CICATA, and university groups such as Universidad Central de Venezuela Department of Physics and Universidad del Zulia. Projects have focused on model development, data assimilation, climate change attribution, and hydrological modeling linked to initiatives by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Global Framework for Climate Services, Group on Earth Observations, and Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America research networks.
INAMEH maintains surface synoptic stations, radiosonde launches, marine buoys, river gauges, radar sites, and automated weather stations across basins such as the Orinoco River, Caroni River, Coro, Maracaibo Lake, and coastal zones along the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. Instrumentation upgrades were implemented through partnerships with World Bank, CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, Japan Meteorological Agency, NOAA National Weather Service, EUMETSAT, and satellite data from platforms including Meteosat, GOES, Aqua (satellite), Terra (satellite), Suomi NPP, and Copernicus Programme satellites. The network supports aviation at Maiquetía Simón Bolívar International Airport and hydrometeorological monitoring for hydroelectric projects like Guri Dam.
Operational forecasting uses numerical weather prediction systems, ensemble products, nowcasting, and radar interpretation, drawing on model output from ECMWF Integrated Forecasting System, GFS, WRF, HYSPLIT, and regional mesoscale configurations used by Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos. Warning dissemination channels include media coordination with Venezolana de Televisión, Radio Nacional de Venezuela, regional broadcasters, municipal authorities, and emergency services such as Protección Civil y Administración de Desastres and Cruz Roja Venezolana. Alerts cover tropical cyclones from the National Hurricane Center area of responsibility, flood watches, landslide warnings, and heat advisories relevant to sectors like Aviación Civil Venezolana and maritime operations under Instituto Nacional de los Espacios Acuáticos.
INAMEH engages in multilateral programs with World Meteorological Organization Tropical Cyclone Programme, UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, PAHO, CARICOM Meteorological Service, CIMH, and bilateral agreements with Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (Argentina), Instituto Nacional de Meteorología (Colombia), Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (Mexico), Instituto Nacional de Hidrología y Meteorología (Honduras), Météo-France, AEMET, Canadian Meteorological Centre, and research consortia including CLIVAR, GEWEX, and CORDEX. These partnerships support capacity building, data sharing, training exchanges, and joint field campaigns with institutions such as University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, and Instituto de Física (UNAM).
Category:Meteorological agencies