TheCable

Mansur Matazu, director-general of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), says the agency will deploy additional 30 automatic weather observing stations to improve climatic forecast in the country. 

He said this on Thursday at the stakeholders’ workshop for the NiMet draft 2022 seasonal climate prediction (SCP).

He said the additional 30 stations would advance current and accurate weather forecasts across the country, adding that changes in the nation’s climate have become more obvious in recent times following the observed anomalies in occurrence of extreme weather and climate events.

He said the meteorological stations situated in every state of the federation helps the agency generate robust database of climate information.

“Like flooding, droughts, heat waves, increasing temperatures, sea level rise, changes in onset and cessation dates, frequent dry spells among others; which have threatened livelihoods, human existence, food and nutrition security, infrastructures and sustainable development across the globe,” he said.

“Memories of the flood of 2012, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 in Nigeria remain fresh in our hearts as we try to recover from the shock and devastation of the unprecedented weather events. Hence, the essence of impact-based forecasting and early warnings of weather hazards.

“May I bring to your attention that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has been in the forefront of providing early warning services.”

Matazu said the agency has intensified efforts at creating additional data sources by investing in over 120 tertiary and secondary educational institutions through the setting up of meteorological stations.

He said NiMet offers accurate and reliable weather and climate information that will assist policymakers in making informed decisions to avert and prepare against risks associated with weather extremes and climate change phenomena.

He added that this was in line with the agency’s vision to be a world-class provider of weather and climate services for safety and sustainable national socio-economic development.

“We provide services across multiple sectors of the Nigerian economy including agriculture, aviation, telecommunications, power and energy, building and construction, oil and gas, disaster risk reduction and management, education, defense, marine and maritime, health, finance and insurance,” he said.

“The services provided by NiMet are essential in ensuring weather and climate hazards do not threaten the sustainable development of Nigeria but become opportunities to further expand socio-economic benefits through resilience, mitigation and adaptation actions.

“Fulfilling this mission and vision requires adequate and quality data.”