By Dirisu Yakubu
The Nigerian Meteorogical Agency , NiMet has said flash floods in urban areas, and storms contributed the most to internal disaster-related displacement, followed by droughts in 2020.
It also stated that food insecurity increased by 5-20 percentage points with each flood or drought in sub-Saharan Africa.
Director General of the agency, Prof. Mansur Matazu stated this, Monday at the end of the Regional Forum on Seasonal Forecasting of the Agro-Hydro Climatic Characteristic of the rainy season for the Sudan-Sahel Zone, PRESAS-SS, workshop in Abuja.
Matazu called on the general public to take serious annual seasonal weather prediction, saying that doing is capable of securing them from the adverse effect of environmental hazards owing to seasonal changes.
Represented by Engr. Mailadi Abba Misau, Matazu stated that workshop began with a review of capacity building on the forecasting process, forecast drivers and forecast tools, every participant was brought to the same level.”
With focus on three thematic areas of agrometeorology, climate services and hydrology “each thematic groups produced the first country-level forecast, and then upgraded it to a regional forecast.
According to him, “It is possible to adapt to or mitigate the effects of adverse weather if a forecast of the expected weather can be obtained in time. Weather forecasts are needed for all activities of human endeavor from simply knowing what to wear to go out, to planning for the day’s activities, to how the farmer and his local extension agent will plan their agricultural activities, to how the water resources managers will plan the operations of their water infrastructure will schedule their departures, to how health practitioners will issue advisories for certain infectious diseases that are dependent on heat, wind speed and rainfall. There is virtually no sector that is not impacted by weather conditions.
“This platform is perhaps the best to further underline the importance of weather forecasting to regional integration and development.
“To be able to avoid or adapt to the effects of these parameters, society needs to be advised through forecasts that will alert and so make it prepared against any adverse effects that the parameters may generate. Occurrences of erratic weather, which knows no geographical boundaries by the way, are beyond human control.
The NiMet boss called on stakeholders to endeavor to take the forecast down to the grassroots where it is needed most, especially for agricultural activities, arguing that “it will be a huge waste of resources (financial and human) to dump it on our shelves and not to downscale to the farmers and others that need the information.
Vanguard News Nigeria