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Weather forecasts prevent Kenya’s electricity blackouts

Scientists are developing custom weather forecasts for Kenya’s energy sector, keeping the lights on and generators off.  GCRF African SWIFT meteorologists are producing new sub-seasonal forecast products for the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen), responsible for supplying more than 70% of Kenya’s electricity. Created using data supplied by the European Centre for Medium Range Weather … Continue Reading

Do convection-permitting ensembles lead to more skilful short-range probabilistic rainfall forecasts over tropical East Africa?

By Dr Carlo Cafaro for GCRF African SWIFT Most of the rainfall in the tropical Africa region comes from convective systems. Forecasting convection is both challenging and crucial – slight changes in surface temperatures, cloud amounts, or winds aloft can drastically affect the timing, location and intensity of the convection. Thus, convective rainfall forecasts can … Continue Reading

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