Climate Services for Increased Resilience in the Sahel

Early warning systems require the availability of high quality data, yet many countries that are most vulnerable to climate extremes have limited observations. In the Sahel region, gaps in the observation network need to be filled so that countries can develop and use climate services.

In addition to visualizing the emergence of meningitis cases in Africa and in Niger Health Districts, the vigilance maps produced by the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) also show how twinning activities are serving as an efficient means for building capacity at and transferring knowledge between global, regional and national levels.

Niger has released its first Climate-Water Resource Bulletin, developed by a working group set up through the country’s National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS).

In December 2017, Niger released its first Health Climate Bulletin, which was produced by the multidisciplinary Climate-Health Group. This is one of five climate thematic groups set up under the Niger’s National Framework for Climate Services, which is now under implementation.

In Senegal, cereal production is estimated to have increased by 20% in 2017 compared to 2016. Climate experts will investigate how much climate services contributed to this improvement in coming years, given Senegal’s dedication to ramping up climate services in the country. 

To date, regional institutional actions have been more project focused rather than strategic as part of delivering climate services in the West African region.

The steering committee for the National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS) in Niger held its first session on 18 July 2017 under the chairmanship of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport.

Experts from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center team conducted a training workshop at the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) in Niamey, Niger from 17 to 21 July 2017.