Weathering A Poor Network

With extreme weather events becoming the new normal, forecasting has become more important than ever. It's time African nations invest in observation networks

IT'S ODD. Every year Africa bears a major brunt of natural disasters. Yet, its weather infrastructure system is both outdated and dilapidated. Worse, the continent has the lowest coverage of weather observation networks, making it difficult to generate reliable data to mitigate climate change impacts. According to a World Bank report published in September 2017, some 54 percent of the continent’s surface weather stations and 71 percent of its upper-air weather stations (where sensors are released into the atmosphere through balloons) are unable to capture accurate data. This is due to negligence over the years and the lack of investment in upgradation of the infrastructure, the report says.