ST. PETERSBURG, December 23. /TASS/. Experts of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) will make in the Russian Arctic a new network of high-precision weather stations. The stations will be placed on drifting buoys, AARI's Director Alexander Makarov told reporters.

The new network will guarantee more accurate forecasts for the Northern Sea Route navigation, he added.

"By covering the entire zone of the Northern Sea Route and the adjacent part of the Arctic basin with drifting and static weather stations we will receive hourly direct data on the ice and weather parameters in the region," he said. "We will be able to verify practically online navigation routes and to make high-precision digital forecasts for due voyages."

Before 2024, the specialists will install domestically made drifting and static equipment in waters of all sees in the Russian Arctic, including along the Northern Sea Route. Seven drifting stations have been installed, and another 42 stations will be placed onto special buoys in 2023.

"We will pay special attention to an upgrade of weather stations in the Arctic's Eastern sector, including most distanced from the mainland parts of seas and locations on islands," the scientist continued. "This direction is most important in view of the growing year-round navigation along the Northern Sea Route."

The weather stations on buoys will collect data on water and air temperatures, atmosphere pressure, heat exchange processes, and wind speed. They will analyze the thickness of snow and ice layers and will monitor ice drifting processes.

The data, received from the sea weather stations, will be processed at the Institute's World Data Center on sea ice and then transferred to Roshydromet's information system. This further upgrade of the weather stations complies with the plan to develop the Northern Sea Route and will continue to 2035.