AU launches SEWA to strengthen Africa's space-based climate early warning systems

Addis Ababa, June 28 (IANS) The recently launched Space for Early Warning in Africa (SEWA) initiative by the African Union (AU) Commission aims to enhance the continent's capacity to produce and deliver space-based early warning services for hazardous climate events, according to officials of the pan-African organisation.

SEWA is expected to significantly reduce the loss of lives and property, especially agricultural outputs, due to heavy rains, floods and other extreme climate events, said Moses Vilakati, AU commissioner for agriculture, rural development, blue economy and sustainable environment.

"The SEWA project is part of the AU Commission's commitments to strengthening African capacities to utilise data from the new generation of satellites for climate- and weather-related early warning systems," Vilakati told Xinhua news agency in an interview.

Noting that the risk of disasters remains extremely high in Africa, Vilakati said many countries across the continent have in recent years been severely affected by floods, droughts and famine, due to the lack of accurate and reliable early warning services.

He said that SEWA is expected to enhance the resilience of AU members to climate risks by improving access to, and use of, earth observation meteorological data and weather services.

"Africa is among the world's most vulnerable regions to climate change, yet it has a low level of access to accurate and reliable climate services," said Vilakati, adding that strengthening weather forecasting and climate information systems is critical for resilience in agriculture, health, energy, water, and disaster risk reduction sectors.

Harsen Nyambe, Director of blue economy and sustainable environment at the AU Commission, said SEWA will deliver real-time services to end users, including weather, water, early warning, and climate information.

"The SEWA will help African countries develop information that is fit for purpose, with the design that cascades down from the needs of users," Nyambe said.

He added that SEWA aims to integrate weather, water and climate information into national and regional development frameworks to support sustainable development, especially in poverty reduction, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

According to data from the AU Commission, fewer than 50 per cent of Africans have access to early warning systems, and those that exist are often unreliable. This shortfall has led to significant loss of life and property.

An AU Commission document also revealed that weather stations across the continent are often located too far apart to provide meaningful local data due to varying terrain and altitudes. This lack of coverage has hindered accurate forecasting of severe weather and extreme climate events.

The AU Commission officially launched the SEWA initiative on June 24 in Windhoek, the Namibian capital, marking a major step toward strengthening Africa's ability to anticipate and respond to climate-related disasters using space-based technologies.

--IANS

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