Not only has mobile communications revolutionised telecommunication in Africa, but it might also drastically enhance African weather monitoring.  A major initiative, dubbed “Weather Info for All”, was launched today in an attempt to radically improve Africa’s weather monitoring network. Organisations that form part of this initiative include the Global Humanitarian Forum, together with Ericsson, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), mobile telecommunications company Zain, and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. The members of the initiative will deploy up to 5,000 new automatic weather observation stations across Africa, intending to provide a massive increase in crucial information to predict and manage climate shocks.

“Weather Info for All” relies on the core business of telecom. Mobile networks provide the necessary connectivity, power and security to sustain the weather equipment. Through its Mobile Innovation Center in Africa, Ericsson will also develop mobile applications to help communicate weather information developed by national meteorological and hydrological services (NMHSs) via mobile phones. Mobile operators will maintain the automatic weather stations and assist in the transmission of the data to national met services. Ericsson will tap relationships with African operators such as Zain, who will host the weather equipment at mobile network sites being rolled out across Africa. Achieving the 5,000 target though would require additional operator commitment and external financing.

According to Carl-Henric Svanberg, President and CEO of Ericsson, the initiative presents a unique opportunity to simultaneously help mitigate the impact of climate change for those most affected, and to strengthen weather networks and systems across the continent. The initial deployment, already begun in Zain networks, focuses on the area around Lake Victoria in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The first 19 stations installed will double the weather monitoring capacity of the Lake region.

“Weather Info for All” will have an impact far beyond agriculture and disaster preparation as it also includes assistance to national meteorological services in training and technical capacities. Better weather information will also make possible the development of services, such as micro-insurance, which can be based on weather data indexes, such as rainfall. The initiative will also increase the volume of information useful for scientists, as well as for the water, transport and energy industries.