Africa must invest in early climate warning systems — WMO
According to Dr. Ernest Afiesimama, Regional Programme Manager of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Africa must invest in early warning systems that would provide information to help people cope with the effects of extreme weather and climate change on the continent.
According to him, the continent was already suffering from severe climate change consequences including flooding and droughts, which were having an impact on the socioeconomic circumstances of the populace. WMO
The manager went on to say that due to people’s high exposure, fragility, and low capability, Africa would experience the effects of climate change more severely in the years to come.
Last Tuesday in Accra, Dr. Afiesimama gave a presentation at a workshop to discuss the annual status of the climate (SoC) report for Africa. WMO
The report is a premier climate product developed with technical assistance from the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development and other regional climate centers in Africa, under the direction of the Africa Union Commission and the World Meteorological Organization.
Experts in climate change are taking part in the three-day workshop and reviewing the report and other products to improve it. The goal is to provide information on African climate variability, trends, and impact with the best possible climate actions to support the continent’s negotiating positions on mitigation, adaptation, and most recently losses and damages. WMO
Coverage
The report’s presenter, Dr. Afiesimama, added that roughly 60% of individuals lacked access to early warning systems, making it difficult for them to take quick mitigation measures to safeguard lives and property.
For instance, the paper noted that over the previous 50 years, drought-related dangers have resulted in over 500,000 fatalities and over $70 billion in economic damages. WMO
Due to the shortage of water needed to run hydropower production capacity, the drought in Southern Africa in 2015 also caused a decline in GDP growth of up to 2% in several countries.
In Ghana, we saw flooding, he continued, adding that floods caused by cyclones and severe rains across the continent cost billions of dollars in losses and damages and harmed millions of people.
The most recent report mentioned widespread severe flooding across the nation.
The message to all governments is that in order to prevent these climatic concerns, we must start acting differently.
We anticipate specialists to propose novel ideas at this session, the manager said.
Disasters
Isaac Amoo, the board chairman of the Ghana Metrological Agency, claimed that the nation had seen its fair share of climate change-related calamities, including tidal waves and flooding.
“While we are dealing with tsunamis, our Saharan neighboring countries in Africa are dealing with drought, which is expanding the area of desertification,” he remarked.
Mr. Amoo expressed the hope that the professionals will exchange information, lessons learned, and initiatives for the benefit of the continent.
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