Lauren Phillips

Tanzania’s ‘forgotten’ cyclones and concerns for the future

Following the rare event of a tropical cyclone making landfall in Tanzania in April, African SWIFT and FCFA scientists unpacked new research recounting the devastating impacts of previous tropical cyclones from 1872 and 1952. Read the short excerpt below, or visit The Conversation to read the full story. A cyclone, known as Jobo, made landfall near Dar … Continue Reading

Intensive training equips forecasters to better predict Africa’s severe storms

By Dr Jennifer Fletcher for GCRF African SWIFT High-impact weather leads to devastating losses in tropical Africa each year. Precipitation forecasts from weather-prediction models remain very poor, and existing tools for very near-term prediction remain under-utilised. In September, African SWIFT is undertaking Testbed 3, an intensive two-week trialling of new approaches and tools to short-term, … Continue Reading

Global investment in African weather forecasting critical to UN Sustainable Development Goals

Global investment in African weather forecasting is urgently needed to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals. African lives and livelihoods are directly impacted by weather- and climate-related risks. Strengthening the capacity of African meteorological services holds transformational potential for improving the continent’s climate-resilience, protecting lives and livelihoods, and delivering socio-economic benefits in the coming decade. … Continue Reading

European satellite data key to African nowcasting

Throughout Africa, lives and livelihoods are directly impacted by weather- and climate-related risks. Strengthening national meteorological and climate science capacities holds transformational potential for building climate-resilience across the continent in the coming decade. Nowcasting capability and capacity is an essential part of this goal, delivering warnings and alerts of highly unstable African storms minutes to … Continue Reading

Weather forecasts advance Nigeria’s fight for food security

Scientists are developing custom weather forecasts for Nigeria’s agriculture sector, equipping farmers to feed the country’s growing population. Meteorologists at the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) are independently developing their own sub-seasonal forecast products for the first time through the GCRF-African SWIFT programme. The result is a critical step towards achieving food security and improving livelihoods … Continue Reading