VIDEO // Automated weather station installed in Old Orhei Reserve of Moldova

An automated weather station has been installed in the Orheiul Vechi (Old Orhei) Cultural and Natural Reserve, which continuously collects data on temperature, precipitation, humidity and wind speed directly from the field.

According to the reserve’s administration, the data collected helps monitor local climatic conditions and allow the identification of drought periods or episodes of heavy rainfall. The information is used to plan and adjust the necessary interventions for habitat protection and maintaining the balance of ecosystems.

The station operates automatically and transmits information in real time, without the need for manual measurements. The data got is used in managing the protected area and in planning intervention measures in the context of climate change.





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The equipment was installed within the project, Improving the management of protected areas in Moldova, through institutional development, capacity building and habitat restoration, funded by the Austrian Development Agency as part of Austrian Development Cooperation, and implemented by EcoContact NGO, in partnership with the Ecological Society, Biotica, NGO.

The total value of the equipment and protection system is 612,797 lei, of which 540,907 lei is the contribution of the Austrian Development Agency, and 71,890 lei – the one of the Orheiul Vechi Cultural and Natural Reserve.

The director of the reserve, Ion Ciobanu, has said that the weather station provided access to indicators used in comparative studies on the evolution of climatic conditions and in the analysis of phenomena at the local level.

For her part, the project coordinator from EcoContact NGO, Maria Lapteanu, said that the equipment provided field data necessary for planning interventions and the efficient management of protected areas.

The project under which the station was installed aims to improve the management of protected areas in Moldova and is being implemented in more zones, including Orhei National Park, Lower Dniester National Park, and the Codrii (Forests) Nature Reserve. The Orheiul Vechi Cultural and Natural Reserve is part of the Orhei National Park and operates as an autonomous unit with its own administration.