Meteorological Leaders Urged to Enhance Safety Measures Amid Climate Threats
Johannesburg – African leaders from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) received a significant call to action this past week to harness their recently acquired expertise to safeguard populations increasingly at risk from climate change effects.
According to World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the plea was made during the culmination of an executive training programme held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The conference, a collective initiative by the WMO, the South African Weather Service (SAWS), and the Henley School of Business, was aimed at building capacity across nearly 60 NMHS directors from various continents including Africa, South America, South Asia, Oceania, and the Caribbean.
The event, which concluded on Friday, October 27, 2023, saw the Deputy Chairperson of the SAWS Board, Itani Phaduli, emphasize the critical responsibility of NMHSs. Phaduli highlighted the vivid and haunting images of communities navigating through the aftermath of the Durban floods in April of the previous year, as a stark reminder of the deadly consequences of inadequate early warning systems.
Directors at the conference were reminded of the UN’s ‘Early Warnings for All’ initiative, with calls to action resonating with the UN Secretary-General’s aim to extend early warning coverage universally. Statistics from the WMO indicate a concerning gap, with Africa representing 35% of weather-related fatalities between 1970 and 2021 and yet 60% of its population lacks access to early warning systems.
Dr. Adérito Aramuge, Vice-President of WMO Regional Association I (Africa), and also a representative of Mozambique’s meteorological authority, stressed the urgency for African countries to secure the necessary resources for effective early warning infrastructures to combat the escalating threats of climate change.
Further insights into the operational challenges were shared by Somalia’s representative to the WMO, Mr. Omar Haji Mohamed, who cited the fragmentation of Somalia’s meteorological services due to past political upheavals and discussed ongoing efforts towards establishing a centralized national meteorological agency.
The training not only addressed leadership and management skills but also aimed to equip the NMHS leaders with the acumen to mobilize funding essential for implementing robust early warning systems. This comes against the backdrop of the ‘State of Climate in Africa in 2022’ report, which underscored the continent’s vulnerability, marked by droughts and flooding disasters with severe community and economic impacts.
The Johannesburg programme marks the second event of its nature following a similar session in 2019 and reinforces the pivotal role of meteorological leadership in mitigating the adversities faced by vulnerable populations due to climate phenomena.