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| East and Southern African nations, the WMO, and the UK Met Office launched a pivotal meeting in Arusha to fortify early warning systems and coordinate preparations for the potential El Niño 2026, focusing on delivering accurate, trusted, and actionable weather alerts. |
A regional meeting aimed at strengthening early warning systems and weather services for East and Southern Africa officially opened on 13 July 2026 in Arusha.
The meeting brings together weather experts and stakeholders from various countries across the African continent to discuss and formulate strategies for enhancing the delivery of warnings for extreme weather events and improving weather services in general. Some of the participating countries include Tanzania, Kenya, Egypt, Angola, Madagascar, South Africa, and others.
The meeting has been organized through a partnership between the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UK Met Office, and the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA).
In his opening speech, Dr. Ladislaus Chang’a, Director General of TMA and Vice-Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), stressed the importance of improving the dissemination and consideration of forecast and warning information.
He also said that the 20th Meeting of the Sectoral Council on Transport, Communications and Meteorology for East Africa adopted recommendations to strengthen National Meteorological Institutions and take appropriate measures to mitigate the potential impacts of El Niño 2026.
On her part, Dr. Agnes Kijazi, Director of the WMO Regional Office for Africa, emphasized that weather knows no borders, making international cooperation essential.
She explained that the meeting aims to strengthen coordination among regional institutions, including Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres, to enhance their capacity to support WMO Members in delivering weather services.
“This is a monumental task that cannot be accomplished without fostering international cooperation,” Dr. Kijazi stressed.
Ms. Fionne Marshall, Regional Leader for Africa from the UK Met Office, called for forecasts and warnings to be accurate, reliable, and actionable. “It is not enough to know that heavy rain is coming if people do not understand the serious impacts that can result. It is not enough to issue a warning if communities do not receive it, do not trust it, or do not know what action to take,” said Ms. Marshall, urging institutions to work with a unified focus on understanding impacts.
Representatives from the East African Community (EAC) and the African Union Commission (AUC) affirmed their roles in strengthening early warning systems.
Mr. James Kivuva of the EAC said that coordination remains a critical gap that must be actively addressed and closed.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jolly Wasambo of the AUC emphasized the continent's commitment as outlined in Agenda 2063, stressing that as global temperatures continue to rise, so it increase the imperative to strengthen early warning systems for safe communities.
The participants will discuss how to strengthen regional centres, reinforce National Meteorological Institutions, enhance impact-based forecasting for El Niño 2026, and boost collaboration in the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Artificial Intelligence.