Aviation Meteoreology Section

Along with the inception of the DCA, various sections under the department were introduced and established among which the Meteorological services to international air navigation forms an integral part. The Meteorological section kicked off with just one candidate in the beginning and now we have one Senior Meteorological Officer, heading the section and three Meteorological Assistants/ Observers who were all trained in various renowned Meteorological Institutions abroad.
The only airport in Bhutan, located in Paro, is at an elevation of 7331 ft above sea level with high terrain.The airport is operational only in the day time and strictly follows Visual Flight Rules (VFR).Keeping in view all these factors, the Meteorological service plays a very vital role in the daily smooth, safe and economical operations of the airline in and out of the airport.
Aerodrome observations and reports for Paro Airport:
At Paro airport, the routine observations and reports are normally made and reported at half hourly intervals. It is also made available whenever the agencies and operators requires. The observations and reports are usually made available to the pilots and other users in abbreviated plain language. Since Paro airport is strictly a VFR (visual flight rules) airport , we at the met office provide only observations and reports of the aerodrome in the form of information,the met services available at the airport comprises of temperature,wind speed and direction, QNH, which is a basic met information that contribute to flight operability factor in and out of Paro Airport.
Every effort must be made to ensure that requirements of operators are understood and to the greatest extent possible, satisfied. The meteorological information available may not be in the form required by the operators; they may also not be aware of the existence and availability of certain information. Consequently,regular liaison with the operators is essential if the maximum benefit of meteorological information is to be gained, as both users’requirement and meteorological information available inevitably change with time as operations and technology change.