"Weak system for monitoring climate change" - Academy of Sciences: Every sector is affected, investments are needed for early warning
Studying climate change in Albania is a necessity, due to the impacts that weather change brings to almost every sector of the economy.
During the scientific conference on the topic: "Climate Change and Water: Closing the Early Warning Gap", organized by the Academy of Sciences, the weak monitoring system that our country currently has was highlighted, as the number of measurement sites decreases year after year.
"Until the end of 1990, Albania had about 228 meteorological stations of different categories and in the current year we have 95 of those called manual or with observations by the observer. Every year 4-5 stations are lost due to demographic movement of the population, due to depreciation of instruments and so on. While an EU country that is close to us, Greece, every year adds 4-5 automatic stations" , - said Prof. Dr. Petrit Zorba, from the Institute of Geosciences at the Polytechnic University of Tirana.
Also, according to Prof. Zorba, uncertified monitoring stations are also a problem.
"In total, around 250 meteorological stations are being built that operate without any permission to monitor air masses over the territory, without sharing data and without any type of certification. Based on this uncertified data, reports are then made to state institutions or projects are drafted and development and construction permits are obtained, which result in ineffectiveness and with negative environmental impacts in many cases", - said Prof. Zorba.
The Head of the Geosciences and Geoengineering Unit, Rrapo Ormëni, points out all the sectors that are negatively affected by changes in the precipitation regime, which come as a result of climate change.
"Water is an important national asset for our country and droughts or heavy rainfall affect the amount of water reserves, but also water pollution. Therefore, the study of climate change is very important. Water has effects on the entire economy: in agriculture, plant vegetation and fishing. Changes in sea temperatures due to climate change affect it. It is important for energy because our country is a country that produces hydropower and if we have climate change, there will be problems with energy. Likewise, food security. Urbanization, tourism and many sectors of life are linked to climate change," said Ormëni.
Experts and institutional representatives emphasized the need for sustainable investments and continuous monitoring.
"We believe that the role of scientific research is essential in this process, helping to draft data-based policies and strengthen decision-making," said Anila Shehi, director of the Water Resources Management Agency.
"Scientific opinion should be taken into account in order to make effective policies, but scientific opinion always provides sustainable and innovative solutions for the future," Ormeni said.
Also present at the event were representatives of the Kosovo Hydrometeorological Institute, who called for joint policies to be implemented to increase the security of the two countries.
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