WMO Regional Director visits NiMet, strengthens meteorological cooperation

Environment, Weather

ABUJA, Nigeria (NPA) — The Director of the Regional Coordination Office of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), Mr Ishaam Abader, has visited the headquarters of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) in Abuja as part of efforts to strengthen regional collaboration and institutional capacity development in Africa.

The strategic visit focused on enhancing cooperation between the WMO and NiMet, while also reviewing ongoing initiatives aimed at improving weather, climate and hydrological services across the region.

Welcoming the delegation, the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Professor Charles Anosike, presented an overview of the agency’s strategic priorities, institutional reforms and regional engagements under the WMO framework.

Anosike, who also serves as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the WMO, highlighted NiMet’s growing contributions to aviation safety, food security, disaster risk reduction, climate resilience, public health and national security through timely weather and climate information services.

He disclosed that the agency recently launched its 2026–2030 Strategic Plan designed to reposition NiMet for improved service delivery, innovation, operational efficiency and stronger regional leadership in meteorological services.

According to him, NiMet is actively participating in several regional programmes under the WMO, including the Voluntary Cooperation Programme (VCP), Technical Assistance initiatives, the Early Warnings for All Initiative and Peer Advisory Services under the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF).

The NiMet boss explained that the SOFF-related projects are currently being implemented in Liberia, Somalia, Niger and Burkina Faso.

Speaking on technological advancement within the meteorological sector, Anosike said NiMet was leading initiatives on the integration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) into operational forecasting systems to support more accurate and impact-based weather predictions.

He also noted that the agency’s Regional Training Centre in Lagos had been upgraded to provide both physical and remote learning opportunities for meteorological training and capacity development.

In his remarks, Abader commended the Federal Government of Nigeria for supporting the WMO Regional Office for North, Central, and West Africa, hosted in Abuja.

He also praised NiMet for its contributions to meteorological development both in Nigeria and across the African continent.

The WMO official stressed the importance of regional training and knowledge sharing, describing them as cost-effective and operationally efficient tools for strengthening meteorological services in Africa.

Abader further reaffirmed the commitment of the WMO to supporting regional partnerships, institutional cooperation and capacity development initiatives.

He assured NiMet of the organisation’s continued support in advancing meteorological innovation, technical collaboration and regional service delivery.