Upgraded weather stations : A pressing need to build climate resilience in Rwanda

The Rwanda Meteorological Department has installed more than 300 weather observation stations across the country in 2017 to improve climate information and in disaster warning and forecasting. While climate change now seems inevitable, this innovation seeks to expand the frontier of weather science by exploring new predictive capabilities in the East African nation.

It is said that the improved field observation using the new acquired equipment could also help the local community across the East African nation to improve agriculture production efficiency and support researchers dealing with water resources management, climate change, and disaster management.

So far, Rwanda's Met. department has set up permanent and automatic rainfall and weather stations and a sophisticated C-band weather radar system that can be used to detect natural hazards triggered by heavy rains, storms and other high-impact phenomena, it said.

Official reports indicate that the new stations will be mainly used for monitoring atmosphere and environment of the whole East African nation and in the monitoring of impacts on climate change and in the management of food security and production in

Since the inception of this new project aimed at equipping the country with improved weather monitoring equipment, Rwanda is especially emphasizing at collecting data of meteorological elements from around the country, and exchange related information to ensure the security of people and the property in accordance with international agreements to which the country is signatory.

The installation of these observation  stations is effectively covering the entire country's weather coverage, reports said.

While the largest percentage of Rwanda population depend on agriculture, some experts argue that understanding the rain patterns has direct relevance and importance.

This is because  adherence to weather forecasts will enable farmers to adapt more quickly to the arrival of too much or too little rain, while better climate forecasts will guide them in planting the best crops for the next season’s conditions.

Source : PANAPRESS