Opportunities of short-term weather forecasts data in the environmental monitoring of the Kazakhstan

This paper considers the possibilities of assimilation of FEWS NET (Famine early Warning System Network) products in natural resource monitoring of the territory of Kazakhstan in the cold period. With an area of 2.7 million km2, Kazakhstan is located in the center of Eurasia in the arid zone, and snow is one of the most important water sources in the first half of the vegetation season. The products “Snow Depth”, “Temperature” and “Precipitation” developed for Central Asia are based on model meteorological data, including short-term weather forecasts. This information, presented in the form of regular matrices, has several advantages in efficiency and spatial detailing over direct ground (remote) measurements of meteorological parameters. The use of FEWS NET products for the environmental monitoring of the entire territory of Kazakhstan or its separate parts is of benefit for assessing the current situation on snow reserves, weather regimes and prospects for spring snowmelt.