The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), under the leadership of its director-general and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Prof. Charles Anosike is advancing efforts to enhance its operational efficiency by collaborating with global experts in meteorology.
Recently, a team from Vaisala, Finland, and Meteo France International (MFI) visited NiMet on a three-day working mission, following earlier meetings held at the 78th session of the WMO Executive Council in Geneva.
The visit by James Gadiner, Kimmo Ristolainen and Vesa Koivula of Vaisala, along with Alexandre Bonnes of MFI, aimed at identifying gaps in NiMet’s observation infrastructure and exploring integrated solutions for service delivery. The focus areas include aviation automatic weather observing systems (AWOS) and radar solutions for improved weather observation and reporting.
Anosike expressed NiMet’s commitment to leveraging the vast experience of Vaisala and MFI to close gaps in Nigeria’s meteorological infrastructure. He highlighted the importance of integrating solutions that not only observe weather and climate conditions but also facilitate the efficient dissemination of information for social and economic impact. The visit is expected to lead to a ‘design, build and operate’ proposal, aimed at improving the capacity of the agency in the long term.
The NiMet director-general commended his staff for their hard work and innovation, assuring them of management’s commitment to improving the agency’s infrastructure, systems and workplace environment to ensure better service delivery. He emphasised the need for NiMet to stay ahead in providing last-mile dissemination of meteorological data, critical for various sectors including aviation, agriculture and disaster management.
As part of the visit, the Vaisala and MFI delegation toured NiMet’s infrastructure in Abuja and interacted with operational officers from NiMet’s technical directorates, gaining firsthand insights into the current state of Nigeria’s meteorological infrastructure. The collaborative efforts with Vaisala and MFI are expected to yield significant improvements in Nigeria’s ability to monitor and predict weather patterns, which will have far-reaching implications for the economy and safety.
This partnership marks a step forward for NiMet as it continues its journey towards becoming a globally competitive meteorological agency. With integrated radar and weather observation systems, NiMet will be better positioned to provide accurate, timely, and comprehensive meteorological data, critical for aviation safety and other weather-dependent sectors.
