Weather stations need facelift

finance for mitigation and adaptation is weak due to a national financial crisis, yet the need is greater for rapid action.
Whereas an efficient and well- resourced weather and climate services system is important in designing relevant policy responses to rising climate risks, the local meteorology unit is not, and needs more capacity for it to adequately and efficiently fulfil this role.
Capacitating the Meteorological Services Department through adequate funding would enhance the division’s provision of accurate and timely early warning information, “used for planning local level economic activities and that aid to incremental economic benefits to the local populace”.
Speaking to The Herald Business, as Zimbabwe celebrated the World Meteorological Day on March 23, MSD director Dr Amos Makarau said meteorology in the country was “facing several challenges, which include aged equipment and shortage of personnel”.
The situation was serious.
Equipment used at some stations is believed to be 100 years old or more. The earliest weather stations in Zimbabwe were set up at Harare and Bulawayo very early in the 20th century.
However, corrective measures were now being taken.
Dr Makarau said among numerous strategies, the department had started replacing some equipment at international airports and meteorological stations countrywide while plans were afoot to offer a degree in meteorology in partnership with a local university.
The MSD was also working towards an ISO certification to improve service and meet international standards.
“Modernisation and densification of the current meteorological network is underway, as the department is expected to install automatic weather stations in disaster-prone and remote areas of the country during the course of the year,” Dr Makarau said.
“These will greatly enhance the observational network and forecasting system.”
In line with agreed international plans to launch the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS), the MSD was working with insurance companies in the provision of weather index insurance that seeks to assist farmers to hedge against the vagaries of weather and climate.
The GFCS urges world meteorological units to improve information for the development of natural resources and protection of lives and livelihoods and property.
That information must be user-defined and be climate relevant at global, regional, national and local levels and provided in a timely and understandable manner.
Dr Makarau said the Met Department was providing “weather advisories and warnings of impending hazards like tropical cyclones, droughts, prolonged heavy rains, strong winds and prolonged dry spells that are likely to endanger life and property”.
Such information is used in policy formulation and implementation of strategies in climate sensitive sectors such as agriculture, disaster management and water resources management.
This year’s local World Meteorological Day celebrations were held in Matabeleland North under the theme “Powering our future with weather, climate and water”.
The event was specially held in that province and specifically at Dhlamini primary and secondary schools in Tsholotsho given the higher frequency of extreme weather events in the region and the need to improve knowledge of meteorological services in remote areas.
The Meteorological Services Department resuscitated the rainfall station at Dhlamini Secondary School in an effort to increase the density of rainfall measuring stations. The nearest station to Dhlamini is 50km away at Tsholotsho Growth Point.
“A dense rainfall station network assists in better understanding of our present and past climate, better weather and climate forecasts, as well as increased information for disaster mitigation and management,” said Dr Makarau.
“In addition, the station will be used for educational purposes at the two schools and local health and agricultural activities.”
The Matabeleland region is one of the worst affected areas by the impacts of climate change.
Over the past century, the region has recorded a 10 percent decrease in rainfall while the probability of prolonged intra-seasonal dry spells has increased to over 50 percent.
The frequency of droughts during the 100-year period in the region was 24 percent, which is much higher than the rest of the country where the drought frequency is between 15,6 percent and 20 percent.
Weather and climate affect people’s lives daily, in ways that are sometimes unimaginable. Rural communities depend directly on their immediate environments for livelihood support.
Weather and climate play an influential role in determining agricultural productivity, water availability for both human and animal consumption, as well as natural ecosystem sustainability.