Published by the government of Zimbabwe
9 July 2009
Harare — Zimbabwe is set to benefit from a climate change mitigation initiative mooted by the United Nations and other private partners that will see at least 5 000 automatic weather stations deployed across Africa.
The weather stations will be installed at new and existing mobile phone network sites throughout Africa over the coming years with a view to increasing the dissemination of weather information via cellular technologies that can reach the continent's most remote communities.
In an interview yesterday, Meteorological Services Department director Dr Amos Makarau confirmed that Zimbabwe would benefit from the new initiative.
"The issue of climate change is very sensitive and the World Meteorological Organisation is channelling funds to prevent disasters, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa.
"Africa has at least 33 countries that are considered to be least developed so WMO will give priority to those areas. We have no doubt that Zimbabwe will benefit from the initiative," he said.
Dr Makarau said Zimbabwe had embarked on a programme to acquire its own automatic weather stations.
WMO, a UN body, is partnering the Global Humanitarian Forum, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, and mobile telecommunications companies Ericsson and Zain in the initiative.
The innovative public-private partnership launched the "Weather Info for All" programme to improve Africa's weather-monitoring network in the face of the growing impact of climate change.
The initial deployment, already begun in Zain networks, focuses on the area around Lake Victoria in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The first 19 automatic weather stations installed will double the weather-monitoring capacity in the Great Lakes region.
Internet reports quote Jeffrey Sachs, head of Columbia University's Earth Institute in the United States, as saying: "Once the switch is turned on, a flow of extensive weather data will become available throughout Africa, with benefits extending from the national policy makers to the small-holder farmers."
Sub-Saharan Africa is the region facing the most immediate risk of drought and floods due to climate change, according to a recent Global Humanitarian Forum report.
Agricultural yield in some areas is expected to fall by 50 percent as early as 2020.
With approximately 70 percent of Africans relying on farming for their livelihoods, meteorological information will become increasingly critical as weather patterns continue to change.
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