The African Ministerial Conference on Meteorology (AMCOMET) has launched the Implementation and Resource Mobilization Plan for the African Integrated Strategy on Meteorology.
It aims to provide coordinated and strategic guidance to African Union member states on meteorology, climate resilience, and adaptation.
It was launched at a side event at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan , which sought to strengthen partnerships among governments, financial institutions, and private stakeholders. This also discussed the financial challenges and opportunities essential for enhancing climate resilience and emphasized the vital role of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in sustainable development.
African countries face an increasingly urgent need to adapt to climate change.
"Extreme climatic events are growing in frequency and intensity, impacting communities across Africa with devastating effects. In 2024, many countries across Africa - from the East African coast through the Sahel to West Africa - have suffered from devastating floods. Many parts of southern Africa have been gripped by relentless drought aggravated by El Niño, whilst extreme heat scorched North Africa" said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
"The climate crisis is closely interlinked with the inequality crisis and is impacting all aspects of sustainable development," she said.
The economic toll is alarming: African nations are estimated to lose between 2% and 5% of their GDP each year to climate impacts, and some countries are forced to divert up to 9% of their budgets for unplanned disaster response costs, according to the 2023 State of Climate in Africa Report.
If no action is taken, by 2030, up to 118 million extremely poor Africans could be exposed to life-threatening climate extremes, which will severely strain poverty alleviation and sustainable development efforts, it says.
There is tremendous potential to drive positive change and advancement across Africa if nations can harness the full benefits of weather, water, and climate information.
However, this needs significant investments throughout the value chain for the provision and delivery of accurate forecasts and warnings. The needs are particularly critical for infrastructure and human resources. These structural gaps can only be addressed by strong political support and joint collaborative efforts.
"I would like to appeal for the full support of all African Union member states and other partners towards effective implementation of the Implementation Plan as we are launching here today. This is particularly so as the Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology (Weather and Climate Services), among others, calls upon us to "Invest in weather, water, climate, and early warning services is essential for sustainable development . And I would like to encourage all of us to build on it through various implementation efforts. There is an urgent need for us to adapt to minimize massive losses and prevent the reversal of developmental gains achieved so far," said Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, African Union Commission.
Forecasts and warnings are only as good as the data they are built upon. Unfortunately, Africa has major basic weather and climate data gaps. In order to close these data gaps, the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) is providing support to 23 African countries with 62 million USD of approved funding. SOFF not only provides one-time investment support, but also long-term grant financing and peer-to-peer technical assistance.
WMO also supports capacity development through its technical and training programmes and through projects funded by the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems Initiative (CREWS). About one third of WMO's project portfolio is dedicated to our African Members.
Through the UN Secretary General's Early Warnings For All initiative , WMO works with partners to support Members in strengthening early warning services.
Investment in NMHSs makes economic sense and delivers high dividends. It is estimated that strengthening basic observations may yield additional global socioeconomic benefits of over five billion dollars annually. Other estimates indicate that investing in surface-based observations in data sparse regions yields a global benefit to cost ratio of over twenty-five.
"Hydrometeorological investments are essential, but we must ensure their impact is maximized. Effective coordination, transparency, and inclusivity are paramount to prevent duplication and ensure that no country is left behind. We must move beyond competitive project calls and adopt a more equitable approach that prioritizes long-term capacity building and sustainable financing mechanisms," said Mike Elton Mposha, Minister of Green Economy and Environment of Zambia, 1st Vice Chair of AMCOMET.
