Ghana Meteorological Agency Develops Digital Means To Share Climate And Weather Information

The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has launched a number of far-reaching technical projects with the aim of delivering timely and accurate weather and climate information services to expedite Ghana’s socioeconomic development.

For successful meteorological and climate information services, as well as data collection and analysis for efficient end-user distribution, the GMet data would be automated and digitalized as part of the reform initiatives.

The Director-General of the Ghana Meteorological Agency, Mr. Eric Asuma, made this disclosure at a stakeholder workshop on Nowcasting Flood Impacts of Convective Storms in the Sahel (NFLICS) in Ghana.

The workshop was organised in collaboration with the United Kingdom Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Koforidua to pilot the NFLICS early warning system over the Gulf of Guinea, especially in Ghana.

Mr Asuma while granting an interview to the Ghana News Agency made it clear that it was critical for GMET to develop and maintain a strong working relationship with other agencies, such as the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to reduce the impact of disasters.

To ensure the effectiveness of the pilot project, forecasters are expected to develop their abilities to generate nowcast flood impacts over Ghana using the NFLICS methodology. The NFLICS is also intended to serve as a guide for organizations responsible for disaster management to help preserve lives and property.

“They [NADMO] are our key stakeholders and a direct ally of ours. In fact, when we come out with our forecasts, NADMO is interested in the nature of the forecasts we issue, especially when we issue a weather warning,” he stated.

Research has established that only 40 per cent of Africa’s population have access to early weather warnings even though it is an integral part of GMet duties, and the World Meteorological Organisation is pushing for early warning.

Mr. Asuma revealed that to ensure the effectiveness of project the work called for the acquisition and application of modern equipment to collect, analyze, and disseminate data, as well as building the capacity of personnel.

“We are automating; gradually, every piece of equipment that we are buying is automatic and will save, record, and transmit very reliable, timely weather information for forecasters to analyze,” he said.

He further mentioned that there had been tremendous improvement in the operations of GMet over the last few years, particularly since 2018.

The Director-General of the GMet disclosed that government has acquired transformers, 10 automatic weather stations, and 12 automatic weather equipment, including a message switching system to take all information on weather and transmit it to the global telecommunications system.

“This helps for water, flood, and draught management, which assist GMet to run models and get some service,” he added, “as well as build a robust data base for meteorologists to do analysis.”

Meanwhile, Nana Kweigyah, President of the Canoe and Fishing Gear Owners’ Association of Ghana says the nowcasting would help canoe owners in Ghana’s four coastal areas participate effectively in fisheries management and governance.

He added that climate change had increased the vulnerability of small-scale fishers by increasing the number of bad weather days, and that their reliance on weather forecasts would boost their fishing expeditions.

“You cannot go fishing if the weather is inclement. Now, bad weather also translates into a bad pushing state or dangerous rough pushing state, and you cannot go on a fishing expedition at such times,” he said.

“So, we usually go fishing based on the weather. Just last year, between March and April, about 70 canoes were damaged,’ he added. “We have relied on the Ghana Meteorological Agency for ocean state information in order to decide whether or not to go to sea.”