Progress of the CREWS East Africa Project Implementation

The Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) East Africa project, launched in 2023, is making strides. 

The Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) East Africa project, launched in 2023, is making strides. The four-year US$ 7 million project builds on the achievements of the HIGHWAY project to support the East African Community (EAC) in achieving its Early Warning System Vision 2025. The CREWS partners – WMO, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Bank – are implementing the project in collaboration with regional entities and the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) of Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda. Project activities to strengthen regional and bilateral collaborations towards enhancing capacity for impact-based forecasting and people-centred predictions and warnings are bringing the participating NMHSs closer to achieving Early Warnings for All.

The project’s national focal points and the heads of the participating NMHSs received CREWS support to attend the WMO/EAC Meeting of the Heads of Operational Meteorology in Uganda on 23 and 24 May. A dedicated session on the CREWS East Africa project provided an update on progress and the gathering of recommendations for workplans. The implementation of WIS 2.0, the facilitation of twinning partnerships within the region, the support of radar data sharing among NMHSs, and addressing Impact-Based Forecast and Warning Services (IBFWS) needs were viewed as the priorities. Several specific national recommendations were also prioritized:

• Addressing the technical challenges of the Regional Instrument Centre (RIC)-Kenya

• Linking the CREWS East Africa and the FINKERAT projects to facilitate technical support of the Finnish Meteorological Institute to the Uganda National Meteorological Authority (UNMA)

• Requesting that the the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) – a designated Regional Specialized Meteorological Centre (RSMC)  – develop a basic plan to support the participating NMHSs.

These recommendations are currently being implemented, enhancing regional cooperation and strengthening the NMHSs capacity to provide accurate and timely forecasts. The Meeting was an important step forward towards the provision of national Early Warning Systems across East Africa.

This article originally appeared on The World Meteorological Organisation.