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STORM WARNING We may not be able to change the weather, but thanks to the innovations of Vaisala, our ability to predict it is improving all the time. BY TIM BIRD PHOTOGRAPH BY RODEO FI AND SUOMEN KUVAPALVELU isations, aviation authorities, defence forces, industrial companies, and road and railway administrations. Ingenious device Prominent Finnish meteorologist Vilho Väisälä founded Vaisala in the 1930s following his involvement in the development of radiosonde. This simple and ingenious device for measuring atmospheric temperature, wind, pressure and humidity is carried out at altitudes of up to 30 kilometres by a balloon that expands and bursts as the pressure decreases, allowing the measurement instrument to return back to earth. Over 70 years later, the radiosonde, now carrying a GPS transmitter, is still a standard weather measurement device. Vaisala is a world leader in manufacturing radiosonde devices, turning out roughly 400,000 every year. Vaisala's portfolio has expanded widely in recent years, however, and the radiosonde is just one of many innovations under production. Husu's own business H urricanes line up in the Atlantic just off the Central American coast. Lightning streaks the mid-September night sky and the people living along the coastline, from Panama to Florida, nervously wait to find out what they should do. Should they board up their houses? Should they jump in their cars and head for the hills? Will it be necessary to close the airports along the coast? Not many people realise it, but the accuracy of this eagerly awaited information depends on Finnish company Vaisala, a world leader in weather measurement. Vaisala's customers include meteorological institutes in more than 100 countries, as well as hydrological organIncreased awareness "An underlying reason for our increasing sales and success is a rising awareness of the weather and environmental matters in general," says Martti Husu, Business Unit Manager of Vaisala Weather Radars. "Another aspect is the increasing damage that weather is doing in the world. That is developing in an exponential curve, not just because the weather is worse but because people are moving in larger numbers to coastal areas, as well as close to mountains where flash flooding, for example, is more likely. In addition, we read reports of all the hurricanes and tornadoes that are happening across the world." FOCUS 29
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