African countries collectively have emitted very little of the greenhouse gases that have caused climate change, but are badly affected by climate-induced floods, droughts and heatwaves. To withstand some of the most devastating extreme weather events, African countries need to adapt fast. Setting up advanced climate information services that predict climate disasters ahead of time is critical. Environmental sciences lecturer Fredrick Kayusi was part of a group of researchers who investigated where climate information systems are falling short and what can be done to remedy the problem.
What are climate information services? Why are they so important?
Climate information services are anchored in weather services. A weather service provides a complete and daily weather description of a specific region. But a climate information service uses this weather data to determine whether it is likely that an extreme weather event (such as floods, drought or heatwaves) will occur in future.
