The Management of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has assured that 30 percent of agricultural yields can be achieved
if the relevant meteorological information and data of its yearly Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) is properly utilized.
The Director General of the agency, Prof. Sani Abubakar Mashi, while addressing stakeholders on the 2018 World Meteorological Day (WMD), in Abuja recently quoted the World Bank as saying that for every $1 invested in early warnings services on weather about $7 is saved from cost of disaster management.
He said the day is celebrated to highlight the huge contribution of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services to the safety and well-being of society.
According to him, NiMet has reliably established that available meteorological data in Nigeria, show evidence of increasing air temperatures since about 1920s, in addition to recurring droughts since 1960s.
Mashi said: “There are clear indications that other climate variables especially rainfall (both magnitude and distribution), atmospheric circulation patterns are changing, while extreme weather events and incidences of climate-related disasters are increasing, as the memory of 2012, 2016 & 2017 flood episodes is still fresh in our minds.
“The projections of the IPCC Working Group-I predict that warming trend in this part of the world will become 1½ times more than the global trend.”
He said NiMet embarks on regular weather and climate predictions to help the public mitigate the effects of extreme weather events through Early Warning Systems (EWSs).
The Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP), according to him, constitutes a decision support tool for Nigerians, adding that it provides critical information to enhance informed decisions.
“It is mainly for planning purposes as it gives insight to the expected rainfall distribution and so provides the necessary advisories to the respective sectors; such as agriculture and food security, water resources management, environment and disaster risk reduction, health, hydropower generation and distribution
“SRP gives comprehensive information on the onset and cessation of rains, duration or length of growing season, and amount of rains annually; including the day and night temperature for assessing the comfort level.”
The DG said the early release of this vital information before the beginning of rainy season every year is not only to ensure effective harnessing of the climate resource, but to also guarantee minimal losses from associated hazards, which are becoming quite devastating in this era of climate change.
For more effective service delivery, NiMet has continued to acquire modern weather observing, monitoring and forecasting infrastructure, the DG said.