Staff Writer
Climate experts from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region have convened in Zimbabwe to enhance their ability to predict weather patterns and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
The Climate Experts Meeting, which will prepare the region for the 2024/25 rainfall season, aims to strengthen collaboration, knowledge sharing, and capacity building among SADC member states.
Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Environment, Climate, and Wildlife Prosper Matondi called for increased cooperation among SADC member states in developing climate models.
“By leveraging our collective knowledge and experiences, we can come up with an improved forecast product which will be acceptable to all sectors who use our products in our different states,” he said.
He said the forum aims to improve the accuracy of seasonal rainfall forecasts, a crucial tool for planning in various sectors.
“The impacts of climate variability and change are evident across Southern Africa, affecting our ecosystems, livelihoods, and socio-economic stability,” he said.
“The shifting weather patterns and increase in the severe weather resulting in natural disasters, cannot be ignored. Most of our SADC member states rely on rainfed agriculture. The process of coming up with the seasonal rainfall forecast, a scientific tool used for decision making is important as it covers all the sectors of our economy.
“It is imperative that we come together as experts so that we review the performance of the past season and come up with a forecast for the coming season as we prepare our countries to plan accordingly. This process enables us to strengthen the models that we are using and ensures that capacity building is continuous to cater for the changes in the environment,” Matondi added.
The meeting comes on the heels of a devastating El Niño-induced drought that affected much of the region.
Matondi commended the experts for accurately predicting the drought, highlighting the importance of their work in safeguarding lives and livelihoods.
“The seasonal forecast as an important tool will not only guide our national plans for the agricultural season but also for other sectors such as the water management sector, the health sector as well as the disaster management sector among others. Further to this it will also contribute to both regional and global efforts in the humanitarian anticipatory action programming to reduce likely impacts from extreme climate events before they occur,” he said.
Matondi highlighted the transnational nature of weather patterns, stressing the need for regional collaboration to create a forecast product that meets the needs of all sectors across the region.
The Climate Experts Meeting precedes the 29th Southern Africa Regional Climate Outlook Forum to be held on August 26 to 28, 2024.
