“We plan to allocate some 14 billion roubles to the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring between 2011 and 2013. First and foremost, we will need to revamp the entire network of hydrometeorological stations. In 2011, a total of 1,600 ground-based hydrometeorological stations will be modernised and another 300 stations will be built. Above all, they will be positioned in areas with a high risk of natural disasters."
Vladimir Putin At a meeting on measures to improve the forecasting system for natural disasters