The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) is scaling up its precision weather forecast capability across the country in addition to increasing weather observation stations across the country, its director general has said.
Speaking on the efforts of NiMet to Furter upscale its weather forecast pereion level which is currently the best in Africa, Professor Mansur Bako Matazu, the Director-General/CEO (NiMet) said the weather observation stations are being increased.
We have deployed “seven Automatic Message dissemination platforms at Airports in Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Enugu, Port Harcourt with Sokoto and Katsina coming soon. We have Upper-Air Stations (Abuja, Enugu, Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri, Jos, Calabar, and Yola). There are six Radar stations (Abuja, Port Harcourt [Operational], Yola, Maiduguri, Kano & Lagos, Air Quality and Ozone monitoring station (Abuja, Lagos, Enugu, Kano). We also have high-Performance Computing (HPC) Centre in Abuja, Numerical Weather Prediction Simulation Centre in Abuja, and Ten NiMet-Earth Network Lightening Detecting and AWOS Stations in Abuja, Lagos, Benin, Sokoto, Kano, Maiduguri, Ilorin, Yola, Enugu, and Port Harcourt.
Prof. Matazu in a paper titled “Enhancing Aviation Safety for Sustainable Development: The Role Of NiMet” said early warning remains the best mitigator to weather-related disasters.
“Early warning and detection mechanisms have proven to be the only dependable solution to the hazards of weather and climate. In NiMet we work round the clock to provide continuous weather information. These weather information are perishable and must be consumed at the right time” he noted.
NiMet thus called on relevant weather users to always leverage weather information to make informed decisions.
“We, therefore, encourage all our stakeholders, especially Pilots and the Flying Crews to take advantage of our products and services and ensure the safety of lives and property at our Airports and enroute destinations.
“For Seasonal Climate Predictions, take advantage of NiMet mobile app and website for regular information,” he said.
