Cuban teenager builds his own weather station in Ciego de Ávila

Dylan Altunaga Pérez, a 14-year-old student residing in Ciego de Ávila, built a functional weather station on his own initiative that has garnered admiration on social media after being shared on Facebook by the meteorology historian Luis Enrique Ramos Guadalupe.

“Today, we do not reference history. We talk about the future,” said Ramos, a professor, geographer, and researcher who coordinates the History Commission of Meteorology in Cuba.

Dylan is in ninth grade and has been learning about atmospheric behavior, mathematical models, and the complexities of weather forecasting for about two and a half years, all in a self-taught manner.

The station being set up includes a thermometer, a digital thermo-hygrometer to measure temperature and humidity simultaneously, a rain gauge in accordance with the standards of the National Institute of Hydraulic Resources, a wind vane, and an anemometer, it was noted.

In addition to the measurement instruments, the adolescent also built the weather shelter—a ventilated structure equivalent to a Stevenson screen—that protects the equipment from direct solar radiation and rain to ensure accurate readings. In a photo, the adolescent is seen next to the structure.

Ramos emphasized that the student "has been learning how things in the atmosphere work, how mathematical models operate, and that weather forecasting is more complicated than it seems," and concluded his post with a direct acknowledgment: "While others misuse energy and youth, Dylan stands out as an example for young Cubans."

Several commentators called for the specialists from the Meteorological Institute of Ciego de Ávila to support the teenager: "There is a lot of future in that kid," wrote one of them. Another pointed out that his story is "a tangible example that when there is interest, intelligence, and a desire to use time productively, difficulties only serve to inspire creativity."

In September of this year, the meteorologist Yosmelvi Páez alerted that the eight meteorological radars in the country remained inactive during the hurricane season, with no images available on the Institute of Meteorology's website. A year prior, in July 2025, another specialist had denounced the crisis of Cuban meteorology due to low salaries and the exodus of specialists.

The case of Dylan adds to that of other young Cubans with a scientific vocation who this year won five medals at the International Earth Science Olympiad, marking Cuba's first participation in that competition.