Weather Info for All Initiative

The Weather Info for All (WIFA) Initiative is a public-private partnership that works to reinforce the capacities and the capabilities of national meteorological services with the goal of supporting local communities worst impacted by climate change through the improvement of weather monitoring. "By bringing together the expertise and resources of different public and private actors, this project may help to save lives and improve the livelihoods of communities in Africa living on the frontlines of climate change." Kofi Annan, President of the Global Humanitarian Forum. The Forum, together with Ericsson, the World Meteorological Organization, National Meteorological Services (NMSs), the Earth Institute at Columbia University, as well as Zain and other mobile phone operators aim to deploy up to 5,000 automatic weather stations (AWSs) at wireless network sites across Africa, where less than 300 are reporting today.

Background

Climate change alters weather patterns and causes an increased number of extreme weather events, impacting heavily on the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities. A recent Global Humanitarian Forum report estimated that climate change is responsible for some 300,000 deaths each year and over 100 billion US dollars' worth of economic losses, mainly because of shocks to health and agricultural productivity. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for close to a quarter of these losses, and is the region at the most immediate risk of droughts and floods. Agricultural yields in some areas are expected to fall by 50% as early as 2020.

Adding to the fact that Africa is the continent worst affected by climate change, it also has the weakest weather monitoring system with only one-eighth of the WMO required weather monitoring density and less than 300 weather stations that meet WMO observation requirements. NMSs across Africa, therefore, do not have the necessary means to deliver accurate and timely weather forecasts to end-users, when adequate, environmental information and services can play a crucial role in improving their lives and livelihoods and can contribute to sustaining economic growth, as well as to mitigating natural disasters.

As climate change renders traditional knowledge unreliable, the lack of accurate weather forecasts prevents farmers from making informed decisions, such as when to seed and harvest their crops.