The World Meteorological Organization/Global Atmosphere Watch (WMO/GAW) Regional Dobson Intercomparison for Asia was held from 7 to 25 March 2016 at the Aerological Observatory in Tsukuba, Japan in close cooperation between WMO and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) which serves as the Regional Dobson Calibration Center for Asia for total ozone. The purpose of the activity was to ensure traceability to the regional standard Dobson spectrophotometer (no.116) through the intercomparison with those Dobson spectrophotometers (no. 75, Xianghe/China; no. 90, Bangkok/Thailand; and no. 100, Quetta/Pakistan) operated in Asia member countries. Four experts from China, Pakistan and Thailand participated in the intercomparison, which was conducted under the direction of a skillful expert from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, USA) and a former ozone coordinator in JMA. The experts also instructed the participants in the proper operation of the instruments and data processing at their home countries. Although the weather was changeable during the period, the intercomparison was successfully performed during the clear days.

An experienced Dobson expert from the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) visited Amberd, Armenia, from 28 September to 4 October 2015 and provided training to the local staff on Dobson observations. New Dobson software was installed and some technical problems were solved so that the instrument now delivers data of good quality.

The relocation of Dobson no. 14 from Tromsø, Norway, to Tomsk in the Russian Federation was successfully carried out in July 2015 and the instrument was released from Customs in September 2015 and put into operation. A training course on the operation of the instrument was arranged for two Russian operators in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, from 7-14 April 2015. The instrument, which had been deployed in Tromsø for many years, was repaired and calibrated at the Hohenpeissenberg Observatory of the German Weather Service prior to its shipment to Hradec Králové. After the training course the Dobson instrument was shipped to Tomsk, Russian Federation. Two participants from the ozone observatory in Nairobi also took part in the training course.

A workshop was held from 14 to 18 February 2011 in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic, bringing together Dobson total ozone data managers and experts from the central facilities of the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch programme to discuss how to re-evaluate and reprocess some important past data sets. The workshop was organized by the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute and the Scientific Advisory Group on Ozone of the Global Atmosphere Watch provided expert guidance. The main goals of the workshop were to bring together managers of the archive data sets from the Dobson stations and provide guidance on how to reevaluate and reprocess important past data; to collect the primary (0-level) Dobson data sets and calibration metadata from the stations to be archived in the World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre; and to present themes and actual results in terms of the operation of the Dobson instruments and data quality assurance at the stations. The workshop was attended by 34 participants, including 21 station data managers of 51 Dobson stations representing some 70 per cent of the currently active Dobson stations. A unified template of the information held by the individual stations was developed for circulation to all stations in the network. The participants learned about problems with the earlier data, and methods of reprocessing data using the freeware developed by the regional Dobson calibration centres.

An intercomparison exercise for the African Dobson instruments took place in Irene, South Africa, in October and November 2009. Eight important instruments were involved in that exercise, including those from Cape Town, Springbok and Irene in South Africa, Maun in Botswana and Seychelles. Another four instruments, from Botswana, Kenya, Nigeria and Seychelles, took part in the extension of the exercise from 15 to 26 November 2009. All the participating instruments are now well calibrated and in good operational condition, except for that from Seychelles, which has a marginal calibration error and may need better expert attention before the next intercomparison event, which is scheduled to take place in 2014 or 2015. In addition, as another extension of the calibration campaign, an instrument from Cairo was calibrated in Germany in May 2010.