{"id":3145,"date":"2026-10-29T10:00:54","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T10:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/29\/africas-weather-observation-deficit-threatening-global-air-forecast-accuracy-warns-nimet-boss-anosike-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-10-29T10:00:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T10:00:54","slug":"africas-weather-observation-deficit-threatening-global-air-forecast-accuracy-warns-nimet-boss-anosike-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/29\/africas-weather-observation-deficit-threatening-global-air-forecast-accuracy-warns-nimet-boss-anosike-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s weather observation deficit threatening global air forecast accuracy, warns NiMet Boss, Anosike \u2013 Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa is facing a gap in basic weather and climate data, holding roughly 30 percent of the entire global observation deficit, according to Professor Charles Anosike, Director-General and CEO of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).\n<\/p>\n

Delivering his welcome address at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Alliance for Hydromet Development Annual Meeting, held at Lagos recently, Anosike emphasised that severe data gaps in developing nations actively undermine global air forecasting accuracy at a time when climate risks are intensifying.\n<\/p>\n

Highlighting the scale of the continent\u2019s vulnerability, Anosike revealed that Africa possesses only about 12.5 percent, one-eighth of the minimum weather station density recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).\n<\/p>\n

Across 53 African nations, compliance rates for basic data exchange stand at a mere seven percent for surface land stations and nine percent for upper-air stations.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cModernizing weather and climate observation infrastructure requires significant capital investment because public budgets alone cannot cover the high costs of building, upgrading, and maintaining global and regional monitoring networks,\u201d Anosike stated, calling for robust Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).<\/p>\n

Anosike traced NiMet\u2019s historical evolution from Nigeria\u2019s first meteorological observation post established 140 years ago in Akassa in 1886, through early colonial weather stations and the 1937 British West African Meteorological Services, to its statutory establishment as a full-fledged Federal Agency in 2003.\n<\/p>\n

He reaffirmed that NiMet now serves as the country\u2019s authoritative regulator and sole provider across aviation, agriculture, maritime operations, and disaster risk management.\n<\/p>\n

In the aviation sector, Anosike disclosed that NiMet has implemented the ISO 9001:2015 standard standard for aeronautical meteorological services across eight major hub airports, Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Port Harcourt, Enugu, Owerri, Osubi, and Yola, while working to extend certification nationwide.\n<\/p>\n

He added that the agency\u2019s 69-year-old Regional Training Centre (RTC) in Oshodi, Lagos, stands as the first WMO-accredited training facility in Africa to attain ISO certification, serving personnel across West Africa and the continent.\n<\/p>\n

Beyond aviation, the NiMet chief emphasized the shift toward co-producing actionable climate products with users across agriculture, livestock, and the maritime sector.<\/p>\n

Partnering with international organizations, AI developers like Tomorrow.io, and insurance providers like REX Insurance, NiMet is translating weather intelligence into practical guidance, weather-index insurance, and commodity market risk management tools.\n<\/p>\n

He noted that in the blue economy, where adverse weather causes roughly 30 percent of marine accidents, NiMet\u2019s daily maritime forecasts with NIMASA and NIWA are crucial for vessel safety.\n<\/p>\n

Addressing disaster management, Anosike stressed Nigeria\u2019s active involvement in the United Nations Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative alongside NEMA, NIHSA, and NCC.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cA forecast is not an early warning until it reaches the people at risk in a form that they can understand and, importantly, early enough for them to act,\u201d he emphasised, adding that weather data creates maximum value when directly tied to decisions, financial instruments, or concrete preventive actions.\n<\/p>\n

In his closing remarks, Anosike expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, for approving a long-awaited comprehensive and competitive remuneration package for NiMet staff.<\/p>\n

He described the welfare upgrade as a historic inflection point that elevates the public perception and professional motivation of meteorologists in Nigeria, laying a strong foundation for sustained organizational excellence.<\/p>\n

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Related News<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIfeoma Okeke-Korieocha<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Ifeoma Okeke-Korieocha is the Aviation Correspondent at BusinessDay Media Limited, publishers of BusinessDay Newspapers.
\n
\nShe is also the Deputy Editor, BusinessDay Weekender Magazine, the Saturday Weekend edition of BusinessDay.
\n
\nShe holds a BSC in Mass Communication from the prestigious University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Masters degree in Marketing at the University of Lagos.
\n
\nAs the lead writer on the aviation desk, Ifeoma is responsible and in charge of the three weekly aviation and travel pages in BusinessDay and BDSunday. She also overseas and edits all pages of BusinessDay Saturday Weekender.
\n
\nShe has written various investigative, features and news stories in aviation and business related issues and has been severally nominated for award in the category of Aviation Writer of the Year by the Nigeria Media Nite-Out awards; one of the Nigeria\u2019s most prestigious media awards ceremonies.
\n
\nIfeoma is a one-time winner of the
\nprestigious Nigeria Media Merit Award under the ‘Aviation Writer of the Year’ Category.
\n
\nShe is the 2025 Eloy Award winner under the Print Media Journalist category.
\n
\nShe has undergone several journalism trainings by various prestigious organisations.
\n
\nIfeoma is also a fellow of the Female Reporters Leadership Fellowship of the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Source: <\/p>\n

Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa is facing a gap in basic weather and climate data, holding roughly 30 percent of the entire global observation deficit, according to Professor Charles Anosike, Director-General and CEO of… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3146,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}