- Agency warns Nigerians to brace for climate variability
Extreme weather conditions in the coming days may result in the loss of human lives, displacement of people, as well as damage to infrastructure, buildings, farmlands, and other properties, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has warned.
The agency urged Nigerians to prepare for the extreme weather events and climate variability caused by climate change.
NiMet’s Director-General, Prof. Charles Anosike, who gave the warning, said the extreme weather events could cause damage to buildings, infrastructure, and farmlands, displace people, and cause loss of lives.
The NiMet boss spoke yesterday in Abuja at a sensitisation forum organised by the agency in partnership with First Green White Resources.
Anosike, who enunciated the strategic role of the media in communicating scientific data to the public, noted that the agency’s success depends not only on the accuracy of its forecasts but also on effective communication with the public.
The director general urged the media to collaborate with the agency to ensure that Nigerians are better informed, well prepared, and more resilient in the face of climate variability and extreme weather events.
He said: “Reports by the media guide disaster preparedness, food production, and help pilots to avoid hazardous situations. The success of NiMet does not rest solely on the accuracy of our scientific data and information but also depends on the effectiveness of the information to the public, which is where the media play a crucial role.
“The management of NiMet is poised to provide quality service in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. Within the last year alone, we have sponsored staff to training within and outside the country, and we have taken necessary steps to address issues concerning staff welfare.
“If we are better informed and better prepared, we will be more resilient in the face of the recent extreme weather events and climate variability.”
Read Also: NiMet predicts 3-day thunderstorms, rain from Saturday
NiMet’s Director of Weather Forecasting Services (DWFS), Prof. Vincent Weli, announced that plans were ongoing to share weather information with telecommunication subscribers through NiMet’s partnership with MTN.
He said: “We just signed an MoU (memorandum of Understanding) with MTN to be able to move to the next level where weather information can be appearing in the phones of Nigerians. We are not there yet, but we’re almost 70 per cent to disseminate.
“MTN is the only network provider for now, but we also believe that we will reach out to other network providers so that no matter the network people use, they will be able to have weather information in the language that they understand.”