LEGAL NOTICES, TERMS OF USE, AND PRIVACY POLICY

1. About the Institution & Publisher

1.1 Website and Application Editor

This website accessible at the address [SITE-URL] (hereinafter “the Site”) and the mobile application KuwaitMet (hereinafter “the Application”) are edited by the Kuwait Meteorological Department, an official government institution operating under the Directorate General of Civil Aviation of the State of Kuwait.

Official Website: www.met.gov.kw
Automated Telephone Service: 104
Official Social Media: @KuwaitMet (Twitter / X and Instagram)

1.2 Institutional Creation & Mandate

The Kuwait Meteorological Department of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation was established in 1953 and has been an active member of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) since 1962. The department’s core mandate is to monitor, observe, and study the weather and climate across the State of Kuwait.

The department is structured into five specialized superintendencies overseeing key operational domains:

Forecast
Climate
Stations
Communications-Met Info
Instrumentation Maintenance

1.3 Human & Technical Capabilities

The Meteorological Department is powered by a highly specialized workforce of approximately 223 qualified professionals in meteorological and atmospheric sciences. These experts continuously study and analyze weather maps, satellite imagery, and advanced radar data to deliver short-term weather forecasts and predict long-term climate changes expected to impact the country.

To sustain its 24×7 mission-critical operations, the department employs engineers and specialized technicians who operate advanced infrastructure and equipment, which includes:

Observation Stations: 27 land and marine automatic weather observation stations distributed strategically throughout the State of Kuwait.
Aviation Safety Systems: 14 specialized wind-shear alert systems and 6 independent automatic weather stations deployed at Kuwait Airport runways, used primarily to guarantee safety during aircraft take-off and landing operations.
Continuous Monitoring: A fully manned 24×7 weather observing station located at Kuwait Airport.
Atmospheric & Ozone Research: Specialized upper-atmosphere monitoring systems capable of measuring radiation and elements of the upper atmosphere and Ozone layers up to a vertical height of 16 Km.
Doppler Weather Radar: A latest-generation Doppler Weather Radar dedicated primarily to detecting cloud structures, heights, densities, and tracking areas affected by dust storms.

In alignment with national development goals, the Meteorological Department, alongside the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, is currently preparing and implementing several new technological projects to upgrade its current systems over the next two years to continuously optimize the efficiency and accuracy of its services.

2. General Services & Media Role

2.1 Scope of Services

The Kuwait Meteorological Department is the sole official source and provider of weather and climate information in the State of Kuwait. Its core service offerings encompass:

Public Forecasts: Delivery of comprehensive 5-day weather and marine forecasts updated and published twice daily.
Severe Weather Warnings: Issuance of timely weather warnings, watches, and advisories for extreme meteorological events (such as thunderstorms, severe dust storms, and flash flooding) at least 72 hours prior to the estimated onset.
Aviation Weather Support: Automatic distribution of real-time weather condition reports to all aircraft traversing Kuwait airfield to ensure the absolute safety of inbound, outbound, and transit aviation traffic. These automated reports explicitly highlight active weather alerts and zones affected by severe storms or volcanic ash.
Inter-Governmental Support: Provision of critical operational data to essential government and defense sectors, including the Air Force, National Guard, Ministry of Transportations, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Electricity and Water, Navy, Coast Guard, Kuwait Ports Authority, Marine Operations, and the Fire Department.
Academic & Statistical Research: Supplying verified historical climate statistics, datasets, and targeted climate studies to educational institutes, universities, and other public/private research bodies.

2.2 Media Channels & Public Outreach

To guarantee uninterrupted, seamless communication with citizens, residents, and global users, the Department disseminates its official meteorological products through multiple accessible media channels:

The interactive automated telephone service by dialing 104.
The official web platform: www.met.gov.kw.
The dedicated KuwaitMet mobile application engineered for modern smartphones.
Verified social networks via the handle @KuwaitMet on Twitter (X) and Instagram.

3. International Framework & Certifications

3.1 External Activity and Global Integration

The Kuwait Meteorological Department is integrated into the global meteorological network, contributing actively to international data exchange programs with official regional and worldwide meteorological agencies. The department operates in strict compliance with the standardized guidelines, international treaties, and regulations established by:

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Furthermore, the Department maintains institutional prominence as an active member of the Permanent Committee for Meteorology and Climate of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the Permanent Arab Meteorological Committee of the League of Arab States.

3.2 Quality Standards & ISO Certification

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Reflecting its rigorous operational framework and dedication to quality management systems, the Kuwait Meteorological Department successfully acquired the international ISO 9001:2015 certification in 2021. It has recently received its updated ISO 9001:2015 compliance certification, demonstrating full alignment with the strict technical standards and requirements dictated by the WMO and ICAO.

4. Infrastructure & Access to Service

4.1 Cloud Hosting

The Site is securely deployed and hosted on high-availability cloud infrastructure provided by Microsoft Azure (Microsoft Corporation). The geographical hosting regions for the servers are located within the Middle East (specifically United Arab Emirates / Qatar nodes) to ensure low latency, robust data residency compliance, and optimal performance across the region.

4.2 Open Access Terms

Access to the Site and the Application is completely open, public, and free of charge. Users are not subjected to any registration forms, account creation, or digital authentication procedures to browse, download, or consult the public weather updates, warning maps, or forecasts provided by the Department.

5. Privacy Policy and Data Protection

In strict compliance with CITRA (Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority) Resolution No. 26 of 2024 regarding data protection regulations in the State of Kuwait, alongside global privacy principles, we inform you below of our transparent data handling methods:

5.1 Local Storage & Cookie-less Preferences

Neither the Site nor the Application collects, harvests, or stores any personal identity or nominative data on our Microsoft Azure cloud servers. To optimize your user experience, we rely exclusively on your device’s native Local Storage (client-side cache) to retain your functional preferences:

Your selected interface language (Arabic or English).
Your designated “Favorites” list (specific geographical locations saved for accelerated forecast retrieval).

This configuration data remains strictly confined to your personal hardware and is never transmitted to or shared with the Kuwait Meteorological Department. You retain absolute control over this data and can wipe it at any moment by clearing your browser’s data cache or resetting your application parameters.

5.2 Push Notifications & Firebase Cloud Messaging (Application Only)

To provide instant safety alerts, severe weather warnings, and urgent updates corresponding to your preferred locations, the Application integrates the Firebase Cloud Messaging (FCM) infrastructure powered by Google LLC.

Data Collected: Upon installation and your explicit authorization to receive notifications, FCM generates a random, randomized alphanumeric technical identifier unique to your device, known as a Device Token. This token is processed securely by Google to route incoming notifications to your phone.
Privacy Assurance: This technical device token does not expose your real-world identity, nor does it grant the Kuwait Meteorological Department or Google access to your name, phone number, email, hardware serial numbers, or precise GPS movements.
Consent and Revocation: The activation of push alerts is entirely elective. You can grant or withdraw your consent at any time, thereby forcing the immediate deletion/invalidation of the Device Token, directly through the privacy or notification settings of your mobile operating system (iOS or Android).

6. Intellectual Property & Copyrights

This Site, the Application, and all contents published within them—including but not limited to raw meteorological numbers, forecast metrics, text summaries, imagery, live radar feeds, digital map layouts, official logos, trade dress, and system architecture—are the exclusive property of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (Meteorological Department).

All components are strictly protected under the legal mandates of Law No. 64/1999 on Intellectual Property Rights of the State of Kuwait.

It is strictly prohibited to broadcast, republish, mirror, distribute, exploit, alter, scrape, or modify any portion of this Site, the Application, or the underlying information without obtaining formal, prior written approval and explicit authorization from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

7. Security and Cybercrime Prevention

In accordance with Law No. 63 of 2015 on Cybercrime of the State of Kuwait, any unauthorized system breach, fraudulent access attempt, illicit modification of data, automated scraping (including unauthorized bot queries or API harvesting), or deliberate hindrance to the integrity of the hosting infrastructure is strictly categorized as a criminal offense.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation reserves the right to deploy automated monitoring tools and will pursue aggressive civil and criminal prosecution through the judicial authorities of Kuwait against any person or entity violating these digital security boundaries.

8. Limitation of Liability

While the Kuwait Meteorological Department utilizes advanced scientific equipment, highly trained personnel, and strict quality control to maximize data precision, atmospheric sciences are inherently predictive and subject to swift environmental fluctuations. Therefore, the Department cannot guarantee absolute, error-free accuracy or real-time availability of its forecasts and data feeds.

The Department, along with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, formally disclaims any liability or financial responsibility for any personal decisions, operational delays, or corporate losses incurred by users relying on the weather information, marine reports, or alerts hosted on this platform.
The Department shall not be held legally accountable for any temporary operational disruptions, data lag, or system blackouts resulting from scheduled server maintenance, cloud routing failures, or software upgrades.

9. Governing Law and Jurisdictions

These Legal Notices, Terms of Use, and Privacy Policies are fundamentally governed by, interpreted under, and subject to the laws of the State of Kuwait.

Any legal disputes, claims, or litigation resulting from the use of the Site or Application shall fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of the State of Kuwait.
In the event of a linguistic conflict, contradiction, or discrepancy between the official Arabic text of these terms and any translated versions (including this English text), the official Arabic version shall strictly and legally prevail.