By the team from the Ministry of Transport and Aviation1.Alpha Bockari, Ag Director2.Augustine Fatorma, Senior Secretary3.Ibrahim Sinneh Kamara, Pupil Meteorological4.Abubakarr Jalloh, IT Personnel

The role of Meteorological

Department in Weather and Climate services

METEOROLOGICAL DEPATRMENT-SL

METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT IS SUPERVISED BY THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT AND AVIATION

Its main roles are: to provide Weather and Climate Services for

the Safety and Protection of Life and Property,

MET Dept Contd

to Secure the Country’s Weather and Climatic Data for Research Work and Posterity .

to contribute to the Growth and Development of the Country’s Economy

MET Dept Contd.

through the provision of necessary Weather and Climate Services to end-users and

to fulfill international obligation of weather and Climatic Data and Information Exchange and Services

provision of meteorological services contributes to the socio-economic development of nations in order to1. contributes to the safety of citizens and life

in general, as well as their property from severe weather events

contd2. help avert potential social and economic

devastation from natural disasters and hasten the mitigation of their impacts.

3. Sustainable development requires that the quality of the nation’s environment is maintained, the provision of meteorological services play a vital role in the overall strategy for national development.

Contd

4. The formulation of many major socio-economic development projects (e.g. agricultural planning, water supply systems, transport, infrastructure etc), reliable weather/climatic data are essential prerequisites for project design while the daily meteorological data is used in vital sectors like air ,land and sea travels to safe guard peoples’ lives and property.

Contd5. successful operation of nearly all projects,

once completed, will in many cases require meteorological support for which provision must be made at the planning stage.

Timely & Cost efficient provision of Meteorological services contributes safety & well being of citizen and their

protection against severe weather situation & devastation from natural disasters.

Provision of reliable climatic data to facilitate project design for agricultural planning and implimentation, water supply systems, infrastructure, tourism etc.

Climate VariabilityWhilst climate change is typically

associated with an increase in mean global surface temperature, what matters regionally is the change in seasonal extremes, rainfall, temperature, drought patterns its consequences on Food Security Human Health and Living Standard.

Hence the emphasis on the regional seasonal PRESAO Forecast especially the JAS Forecast

Change of the temperatures observed

11 Source: Stern Review

Many observations indicate that the climate evolved/moved during the last century: The average temperature rose by approximately 0,6°C the snow-cover and the glacial extents were reduced and hence the sea level rose from 10 to 20 cm

Climate Change Effect on Us• It is well known that during the last 30 years, the climate of the

West African from the rainforest of Sierra Leone and Liberia to the Sahelian regions have undergone various changes, especially in terms of rainfall. This has had large negative consequences for the poor-resource farmers depending mainly on rain-fed agriculture and for the regional economy.

• These regions has a high degree of vulnerability to climate change, including climate variability, owing to its high sensitivity to changes and a low level of adaptive capacity. A major uncertainty for the future vulnerability of this region is the nature and character of projected climate change in the region and its effect on the biodiversity ranging from the reduction of both the forested land as well as the animal sepsis

Effects of Climate Change and Extreme Weather events Land degradation, erosion and desertification Loss of bio-diversity Degradation of River and Lake Water resources. Degradation of coastal maritime ecosystems Degradation processes brought about by the

development of mineral resources Problems of urban and industrial pollution

 Problems relating to the management of towns, settlements and other establishments

Health and the environment Loss of lives and property

What have the department has done so far

14

• The Department carried out the Climate Change Project in 2008 which complied the Country’s emission data in accordance with the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

• Directed the National Adaption Program of Action (NAPA) project with other stake holders and line ministries in the assessment . We approached UNDP through our parent body the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for the digitization of our Meteorological/Climatological Data. They contracted three (3) data entry personnel for

What we have done contd

15

• We receive the European Meteorological Satellite (EUMETSAT) reception station for our service together with the joint African Monitoring of the Environment for Sustainable Development (AMESD) of Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security and other line ministries and organizations. The equipment have been installed at the Agriculture Ministry (Planning Division) and at the MET Forecast office at Lungi respectively.

What we have done contd

16

We have installed five (5) automatic weather stations (at Freetown, Lungi, Kenema, Njala and Rokpur) from the Spanish Government/WMO Voluntary Cooperation Programme (VCP) through the UNDP office. The data are simultaneously received by the MET and Agric authorities after the respective processing. The UK Met Office offered the technical service of installation and training of Meteorological Personnel in handling the equipment.

What we have done contd

17

• From the NAPA assessment, we came out with the MET component master plan for the rehabilitation of our previous stations and for possible expansion of our net work of stations and other logistics. Part of this was taken on board together with the requirements from other line ministries (especially the Agriculture and Food Security ministry) in the Global Environment Facility (GEF) fund to be implemented by IFAD. This project will help to alleviate some of our pressing problems of training and station expansion.

What we have done contd

18

• Due to the shortage of staff and in preparation for the new stations to be established, the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) and the Public Service Commission (PSC) recruited thirty (30) Meteorological Observers, five (5) Meteorological Officers and four (4) Pupil Meteorologists. They have all done the basic weather observation and 15 of the observers have already been deployed at the Lungi office.

• We are collaborating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in FEWSNET/CILSS Food security monitoring and early warning.

• Our service to the Aviation, Marine, environment, disaster management etc cannot be overemphasized.

What we have done contd

19

• Our participation in the annual PRESAO July, August and September (JAS) forecast exercise made us to introduce the Early Warning Systems and Seasonal Forecasting Mechanism (Planning/ Training stage). We only hope that as we appealed to planning and NGO offices, that we will get the sponsorship for at least one person for the training session in Niamey, Niger in February, 2013 for us continue this vital service of seasonal forecasting.

The Consensus Process (PRESAO-16)

NationalForecasts

(« local» scales )

GCMsForecasts

(« large» scalesand SSTs )

OtherForecasts

Consensus Discussion

Regional Forecast

18 Countries9 « Global » Producing

Centres

Verification

What we have done contd

21

The help from the UNDP, we have digitized most of our climatological data so that we can reduce the waiting period between data request and service to end-users. Donors are welcome for the completion of this noble project.

Challenges

22

• Farmers need prompt meteorological and climatological Information.

• The Ranet system provided by ACMAD is very useful for that since its twenty miles radius broadcast will adequately meet the local farmer’s need. Please note that we have none at this moment.

• The Participation in the yearly PRESAO forecast modeling for our region will greatly enhance service delivery. We need sponsorship for our personnel for next year's February and subsequent climate modeling preparations in ACMAD, Niamey.

Challenges Contd

23

The provision of the Satellite Aviation Data International Service (SADIS) system will assist not just the aviation wing, but our general service to all.

Our storm detecting and rescue logistics radar that was destroyed at Tower hill needs replacement. This tool will save lives during boat, air and similar disasters

Challenges Contd

24

We need Two (2) Ranet Systems for out station data collection. It is cheaper than the internet and tailored for MET use.

There is at the moment no SSB set for data dissemination from our out stations.

We need some 15 SSB sets in each of the districts and regions for timely data dissemination for the farmers and other end users

There is need for the reopening of 14 automatic stations especially for rainfall to aid the farmers and for early warning.

The department needs the storm detecting radar in order to help our fishermen and local boat travelers. This will prevent/ minimize sea disasters.

We need funds for the external training of the three (3) Pupil Meteorologist and five (5) Meteorological Officers.

Challenges Contd

25

The department’s present official building is very old and partly dilapidated. Luckily for us we have a vacant land that was used as our garage before the war. We need to put up a structure there to house the Meteorological Office, the Climate Change Secretariat and the Department’s training school. Any help in this direction is welcome.

We need capacity building in training for all levels of personnel

Conclusion- there is need:•In scientific, technological, technical, socio-

economic and other research, systematic observation and development of data archives related to the climate system;

•In the full, open and prompt exchange or relevant scientific, technological, technical, socio-economic and social consequences of various response strategies; and

•In education, training and public awareness related to climate change.

RecommendationsFuture Cooperation RequirementsRe-orientation and development of national

policies and programmes to take climate change fully into account in formulating a sustainable development path

Enhance climate change education and awareness particularly at basic cycle in schools

Rehabilitation of observation networksFurther capacity building for Sierra Leoneans

Thank you for your attention