AU urges universal access to climate data to urgently enhance response
Windhoek, Namibia (PANA) – The African Union has urged countries in Africa to urgently seek for universal access to climate information held by weather prediction stations worldwide.
A global universal access system would enable African farmers, weather organizations, scientists and policymakers, to universally access data produced from international weather prediction and observation centres.
The African Union Commissioner for Agriculture, Blue Economy and Rural Development, said on Monday, Africa's exposure to extreme weather events, meant, countries in the continent must urgently prioritize climate services.
“We are working through various organizations to enhance efforts to enable countries to directly access early warning systems so that they are better prepared for climate shocks. This means enhancing the ability to utilize the climate data. Our desirable outcome includes a demand for universal access to climate information,” the AU Commissioner told a news conference in Windhoek on Monday.
Africa's top policymakers, alongside representatives of the European Union, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, are attending a meeting in the Namibian capital to discuss steps to improve access to climate services.
Should a universal access to climate information be implemented, it would mean that African climate prediction centres, communities and other users, receive information in a timely manner to enable them effectively utilize it.
The information could be obtained from national, regional and multilateral agencies working to obtain weather information and data analysis.
These organizations would be required not only to release the information, but they would also be required to do so, in a timely manner, in multiple formats and languages, ensuring that communities are able to comprehend.
The weather organizations would also be expected to ensure the information is usable by climate sensitive sectors, such as agriculture, water resources, health and disaster risk in Africa.
For example, in Namibia, the access to timely climate information, has helped the country to effectively respond to extreme weather events, such as flood.
“Climate change is right at our doorstep. There are climate resources that we urgently need, such as better satellite data services in order to better protect our resources. We need to act through better and targeted strategies,” said Jonas Sheelongo, Transport Ministry Deputy Executive Director, speaking on behalf of the Namibian Minister of Transport, Veikkoh Nekundi.
The Namibian government noted that the collaboration between the respective regional and international climate change organizations, had enabled countries in the Southern Africa region to achieve major milestones.
These include enabling the countries to better access timely, reliable, and user-tailored climate information; Enhance institutional capacity within meteorological and hydrological services and strengthened regional cooperation and shared learning.
The collaboration has also helped to increase the appreciation among decision-makers and end-users for the power of climate-informed planning.
“Africa stands at the frontline of the climate crisis, but it also stands at the forefront of opportunity. Therefore, the theme of this event; ‘Accelerating Access to Climate and Weather Services for Resilient African Economies and Communities’ is not just a call to action, it is a continental imperative,” the Namibian Transport Minister said in a written speech.
The Minister said accelerating access to weather data translates to strengthening national meteorological and hydrological services. It means modernizing observation networks, empowering early warning systems, and building capacity at every level, from regional centres to rural communities.
This would enable users, including farmers, pastoralists, women, youth, and policymakers at the heart of the design and delivery of climate services.
“This is because resilience is built not in conference rooms alone, but in the daily decisions of those who depend on the land, the rains, and the seasons,” the minister said in his speech read here at the Joint Climate Services (ClimSA) and the Space for Early Warning in Africa (SEWA) Forum, 23-27 June, 2025, in Windhoek, Namibia.
Through the African Union Climate Services (ClimSA) project, the AU supports the generation of information which is utilised to produce the African Continental Climate Outlook.
This Outlook provides detailed maps on the climate phenomenon likely to be experienced by the countries, based on the dust concentration, relative humidity and temperatures below 27 degrees Celsius. In the West African region, the current ClimSA prediction, indicates a possible meningitis epidemic over Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad.
It also indicates possible meningitis cases in Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea, Ghana, Benin, Togo, Burkina Faso, Mali, Libya, Cameroon, Algeria and Sudan.
The current outlook indicates these cases are likely to pile pressure on health systems, leading to loss of life. The outlook, therefore calls for routine surveillance systems at regional levels and national levels.
-0- PANA AO/RA 23June2025
