Enemy Occupied Areas

The first request for reports on the meteorological and climatological conditions in specified localities held by the Japanese came from the Allied geographical section of General Headquarters on July 1942 when the places under consideration were the islands of Guadalcanal and Tulagi, in the Solomon group. Thereafter, a steady demand for reports of this type followed—chiefly from the Allied geographical section—as the scene of operations moved to New Guinea and thence west and north-westward. In almost every case, the reports were in standard form, subsequently appearing in the terrain study of the particular locality and also, in abridged form, in the appropriate handbook.

Sometimes, by special request, an additional section was included giving as much detail as possible for a restricted area within the area featured in the terrain study, but generally the form was: introduction, rainfall, wind, visibility, cloud, temperature, humidity, thunderstorms and miscellaneous features, including, where available and applicable, notes on sudden storms, squalls, cyclones and typhoons, states of the sea, surf and swell, tides and rivers. Statistical tables and figures were inserted where appropriate, together with times of rising and setting of the sun and moon for specified localities.

After the preparation of each report for the Allied geographical section, duplicates were taken for distribution to RAAF meteorological sections, as well as to other interested units within the Allied services.

Here is a comprehensive list of the reports issued by D.Met.S. for this purpose (sunrise and sunset tables prepared for days at weekly intervals; moonrise and set tables on a daily basis):

(Ed. The voluminous text that formed this comprehensive list was not considered suitable for general reading and has been reproduced at Appendix 1)

Bureau of Meteorology