Zim to host regional climate experts meeting

Sifelani Tsiko, Innovations Editor

Zimbabwe will host the 29th Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum (SARCOF 29) this month to generate a forecast for the 2024-2025 rainfall season for the SADC region.

Meteorological Services Department deputy director Ms Tambu Pasipanodya told The Herald on Thursday that the forum will attract more than 150 climate experts drawn from all 16 SADC member states.

This is coming at a time when the country is also hosting the 44th SADC Summit of Heads State and Government on August 17 under the theme: “Promoting Innovation to unlock opportunities for sustained economic growth and development towards an Industrialised SADC.”

Ms Pasipanodya said a series of meetings will run from August 19 until August 30 when regional climates experts will issue the seasonal rainfall and temperature forecast for the 2024-2025 cropping season. A climate experts meeting will run from August 19-25, SARCOF-29 Forum August 26-28, the 6th SADC ClimSA PMC steering committee meets August 29, while the SADC Sub-Committee (SCOM) meeting for directors of national meteorological services within the SADC will be held from August 29-30 this year.

“The 29th Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum is a key event for enhancing climate resilience in the SADC region,” said Ms Pasipanodya. “These forums are crucial for providing accurate and actionable climate forecasts as well as fostering regional collaboration in the field of climate science.”

The forum offers a vital platform for stakeholders across the SADC region to come together and share insights on climate trends, forecasts and their implications.

A seasonal climate outlook helps SADC countries to plan and prepare for varying climate conditions given the region’s vulnerability to climate variability and change. Climate and weather experts will also review the previous rainfall season and forecast the nature of the upcoming season across the region.

The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and other global weather bureaus are getting early signals that a La Nina weather event may form in the Pacific Ocean later this year, something that could increase chances of wetter conditions in Zimbabwe and other countries in southern Africa during the 2024/25 cropping season.