Guide to Hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea in the Internet
The 13th CASPCOM Session held in Almaty, (Republic of Kazakhstan) in November 2008 came to a decision to prepare the Internet-based guide to hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea.This guide should aid both experts working in this area, and all those concerned, in searching for the required information.
The Guide created in 2009 has been updated several times. The most significant update was made in the autumn of 2016 before the 21st CASPCOM Session, when the links to wind and wave forecasts were replaced from the Guide to the special website section, which can be accessed from the main page. The remaining links were updated and displayed under the following headings:
Everyone who has used the Guide can leave the feedback 
. You can mail additional links to be entered into the Guide to this address.
Forecasts
One of the main sources of prognostic information on hydrometeorological conditions of the Caspian Sea is the Unified system of information on the situation in the World Ocean (ESIMO) established in Russia.
ESIMO operational module, which includes marine hydrometeorological forecasts is maintained by Hydrometeorological Center of Russia. Alongside with the wind and wave forecasts, you can find the following forecasts having 5-day forecast lead time and12-hour run time:
- Air temperature;
- Relative humidity;
- Cloudiness;
- Precipitation rate;
- Underlying surface temperature;
- Heat flux at the sea surface;
- Freshwater flow at the sea surface.
Another web page of ESIMO operational module contains forecasts with 2-day lead time and 1-hour period of the following parameters:
- Sea level;
- Currents at 2.5 and 10.5 m water level.
The forecasts are available for the whole Caspian Sea and for the North Caspian.
The forecast of sea level fluctuations in the eastern part of the North Caspian having 5-day lead time is also published in the Review of the status of the Caspian Sea surface area adjacent to the Republic of Kazakhstan and .
Actual weather information
Information on the actual weather at the coasts and the aquatic areas of the Caspian Sea (over the past 24 hours, or more) can also be found in the Internet.
Information on the actual weather in the principal and supplementary synoptic hours (air temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction) can be found . To access these data, click the Caspian Sea area on the map on the main page of this website.
Sea water temperature maps based on remote sensing and on-land observations data for the past day can be found on the page of ESIMO operational module .
During the freeze-up period, the Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia weekly issues ice forecasts for the Caspian Sea .
Kazhydromet prepares and issues a weekly Review of the status of the Caspian Sea surface area adjacent to the Republic of Kazakhstan. To access it, follow the link .
Climatic information
Within the ESIMO framework, an electronic atlas “Climate of the Russian seas and the World Ocean” has been created. is the link to the Caspian Sea section of the atlas. The atlas contains information on hydrometeorological conditions (air temperature, wind speed and direction, water temperature and salinity, sea level, wave height and direction, etc.) at the coast and in the open sea, according to long-term data of coastal and ship observations.
Long-term series of observations of air temperature and atmospheric precipitations at the coast of the Caspian Sea can be found at the website of the North-Eurasian Climatic Centre in "Data" section. This Centre currently issues seasonal and annual overviews on the state and trends of climate change in the CIS countries, including the Caspian region (The overviews are displayed in "Monitoring" section).
An electronic reference guide to the Caspian Sea has been produced within the framework of ESIMO activities. gives geographical characteristics, the description of hydrometeorological conditions and hydrochemical regime, the overview of marine activities and natural resources of the Caspian Sea are presented.
The list of information resources on hydrometeorology of the Caspian Sea includes the hydrometeorological atlas displayed at CASPCOM website (to access it, go back to the main page). The main objective of this project is to make all the ever-published cartographic materials on hydrometeorological conditions of the Caspian Sea available to the public (most of these materials have long become rare, although they preserve their scientific and practical significance).
Remote sensing data
The remote sensing data of hydrometeorological situation in the Caspian Sea are displayed at the website of "Planeta" research centre . To access these data, including the daily updated charts of satellite meteorological analysis, one should enter "Operational products" and select the required page.
Sea level maps based on satellite altimetry data for the past day can be accessed on the website of ESIMO operational module .
Global remote sensing data visualization systems can be used as current and historical data sources for the Caspian Sea.
While working with use ADD DATA function to select the required parameters (temperature, chlorophyll etc.) you want to visualize. CAPTURE IMAGE function allows selecting and saving the required map area. The time scale placed under the menu helps determine the required time period for data visualization.
While working with select the time period for data visualization in Select Date Range (UTC) menu. Enter the coordinates of the required map area in Select Region field or use Show Map function and the selection tool. Select data type in the menu on the left. After that click Plot Data at the bottom of the page, and you will get the map with the visualized data.
Information on marine pollution
CASPCOM is made up of five national hydrometeorological organizations. The responsibilities of two of them - Kazhydromet and Roshydromet- alongside with hydrometeorology include observation of environmental pollution, including the pollution of the Caspian Sea. On the basis of the submitted data Kazhydromet issues an information bulletin on the state of the environment of the Kazakhstan's sector of the Caspian Sea , and Roshydromet issues "Yearbook of marine water quality by hydrochemical parameters" .
Other useful information on the Caspian Sea
The "travellers" in the Caspian Sea hydrometeorology can also use the encyclopaedia , , the sailing directions and the library of fundamental research papers on the Caspian Sea . However these sources can be accessed only by Russian-speaking users. To English speakers, we suggest using .
