By Yun Suh-young
Internet portal Naver is now providing a convenient weather service that can help people prepare for natural disasters in advance.
The portal began a real time satellite photo service on Aug. 28 which provides the route of typhoons on a map. People will now be able to view the real time image of meteorological changes other than the route of typhoons such as the movement of heavy snow and yellow dust as well as the melting of ice.
The service comes after mega-sized Typhoon Bolaven caused psychological and material damage across the country.
The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) will provide the images for the map from the Chollian satellite. The images will be sent to the portal map in real time as they are taken by the institute. The images will be easy to view as they will look similar to a color photo.
KIOST and NHN Corp., the company running the Naver portal, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Aug. 27 in an effort to help citizens more easily access professional maritime satellite weather forecasts.
“The satellite image also shows the distribution of phytoplankton and the concentration of turbid waters. Because the satellite takes photos of the Korean Peninsula and the East Asian region eight times a day, 365 days a year, anyone can see the maritime situation through the images, KIOST said in a press release.
“This is the first time such satellite service is being provided to ordinary citizens. The service will relieve the stress of those who had to wait for the weather agency to make announcements,” an official from the Internet corporation said.