Green support helps secure mountain weather service
The future of Scotland’s mountain weather forecasting service has been secured, less than 48 hours after concerns were raised by a Green MSP at Holyrood.
On Tuesday (13 Sept), when asked by Lothian MSP, Andy Wightman the Minister for Public Health and Sport was unable to give details about the future of SportScotland’s and the Mountain Weather Information Service’s funding arrangement. Now, a joint statement from organisations says an agreement has been “reached”.
Green MSP Andy Wightman MSP said:
“I was delighted that the minister agreed with me that the forecast service is an essential service for climber and walker safety in Scotland and that she has now acted to save this important service.
“This is a service that has provided trusted detailed forecasting for mountain users for 13 years and SportScotland has funded it since 2007. It’s a service that is relied upon by hundreds of thousands of users of Scotland’s mountains every year and safety and enjoyment of those who use our mountains is dependent upon accurate reliable, and above all trusted sources of weather forecasts.”
Wightman added:
“I trust that any future changes to the service will be undertaken with the full engagement of the outdoor community.”