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EIF brings Automated Weather Stations to Kunene communities

EIF brings Automated Weather Stations to Kunene communities

Farmers in the Warmquelle, Kamanjab and Erwee districts will now have the benefit of making more accurate weather assessments, following an investment by the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) of Namibia to install four automated weather stations in these villages.

Situated in Kunene, the driest region on the north, the weather stations are viewed as key equipment to enable the meteorological service to collect live data from these areas.

The four weather stations are valued at about N$800,000, and form part of the environmental investments under the “Improving Rangeland and Ecosystem Management (IREMA) Practices of Smallholder Farmers under Conditions of Climate Change.”

Investment Fund Chief Executive, Benedict Libanda said the Ministry of Works and Transport, specifically the Meteorological Services of Namibia will be the custodian of these highly technical Automated Weather Stations and will play a pivotal role in their management. “These Stations reinforces Namibia’s commitment to implement early warning systems as a crucial means of alerting our communities to climate change and enabling them to respond effectively. Early warning information empowers communities to take timely action in the face of potential disasters such as droughts and floods,” added Libanda.

He said this serves as a safety net allowing communities to pro-actively plan for disasters, thereby saving lives, preserving jobs, protecting ecosystems and safeguarding critical infrastructure. “The sustainability of this project is dependent on the inputs from the stakeholders that directly interface with the hazards as well as continued financial and technical support from the project partners to ensure mitigation of the adverse effects culminating from climate shocks through timely dissemination of accurate climate information to our communities,” he emphasised.

The IREMA project was initiated as a response to the persistent droughts and dry spells that plague the Kunene Region. To mitigate the risks, the development of an Early Warning System was crucial because it utilizes an integrated communication system to help communities prepare for hazardous climate-related events.


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Freeman Ya Ngulu

Freeman Ngulu is an investigtor, an author and a keen entrepreneur. His speciality is data journalism for which he loves to dig deep into topics often ignored by mainstream reporting. He tweets @hobameteorite.