The Minister of Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, will bid farewell to the overwintering team (Gough61) heading for Gough Island on the SA Agulhas II, on Thursday 3 September 2015, in Cape Town.
The Gough61 overwintering team will spend 14 months on the island and will conduct research on weather forecasts which impact South Africa, as well as increase the country’s understanding of climate change. South Africa has maintained a meteorological station on Gough Island since 1956.
Weather observation on Gough Island contributes significantly to the South African Weather Service (SAWS) ability to forecast and predict (particularly adverse and destructive) weather for South Africa. South Africa is one of the signatories to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention, and SAWS is responsible for providing weather and warning services to the second largest Ocean area on the globe known as METAREA Seven. The area spans from the Equator and extend to Antarctica in the South, and from mid- Atlantic in the West to the mid-Indian Ocean in the East.
The weather station is permanently occupied by, on average, six South Africans (the only people on the Island). The team of six consists of three meteorologists, a medical orderly, a diesel mechanic and a communications technician.
Members of the media are invited to cover the farewell ceremony and will have an opportunity to conduct interviews. Details of the farewell ceremony are as follows:
Date: Thursday, 3 September 2015
Time: 12h00
Venue: East Pier Quay, V&A Waterfront, Cape Town
To RSVP, contact:
Tshego Letshwiti
Tel: 021 819 2633
E-mail: 076 307 9634
E-mail: TLetshwiti@environment.gov.za
For media enquiries, contact:
Zolile Nqayi
Cell: 082 898 6483
