Meteorology - Kazakhstan PPL
Meteorology tests your ability to read Kazakhstan weather products and make a go/no-go decision: METAR/TAF decoding, pressure settings, wind, cloud, icing, thunderstorms, and local continental-climate hazards such as winter fog and dust.
Products and pressure
- METAR is an observation; TAF is a forecast with a validity period. Check issue time and amendments.
- QNH gives altitude above mean sea level; QFE gives height above the aerodrome. Below the transition altitude use QNH/QFE as cleared; above it use standard setting and flight levels.
- In Kazakhstan, wind may be reported in m/s and heights in metres; confirm units on the chart and in the broadcast.
Hazards
- Carburettor icing is possible at outside air temperatures from about -10°C to +25°C with high humidity.
- Airframe icing risks are highest in freezing rain/drizzle and stratiform cloud; check the freezing level.
- Thunderstorms bring wind shear, hail and microbursts; avoid by at least 20 nm and do not fly under a cell.
- Fog and low stratus are common in winter inversions; dust or blowing snow reduces visibility in spring.
Worked example
METAR UAAA 121230Z 24006MPS 5000 -SN BKN020 M08/M11 Q1024 NOSIG. Reasoning: surface wind 240° at 6 m/s; visibility 5 km; light snow; broken cloud at 2,000 ft; temperature -8°C, dewpoint -11°C (spread 3°C); QNH 1024 hPa. For a VFR flight, 5 km visibility may be below the required minima for the airspace; check AIP minima and icing risk at -8°C in cloud.
Traps
Confusing QNH and QNE; reading TAF as current weather; ignoring temperature/dewpoint spread; treating NOSIG as a guarantee.