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TAHMO Attended GSMA MWC Meeting

In October, representatives from TAHMO in Rwanda and Tanzania embarked on a transformative journey to the GSMA MWC Kigali Series. The GSMA, a global organization dedicated to unifying the mobile ecosystem and driving innovation for positive change in both business and society, set the stage for an inspiring gathering.

As a climate and weather observatory institution, TAHMO found itself uniquely positioned to leverage the opportunities presented at this event. The theme of a “new chapter for climate action” resonated deeply with the organization’s mission. However, the real game-changer was TAHMO’s selection by the GSMA Mobile for Development Foundation, Inc. for an Innovation Fund Grant Agreement. This recognition was more than just an accolade; it was a chance to further their noble cause.

The vibrant setting of the KIGALI M Hotel hosted a startup boot camp on the 15th and 16th of October, attended by Lisa from Tanzania. The connections made during this event would prove to be pivotal in the days to come.

On the first day of the meeting, attendees were treated to insights from notable speakers, including the esteemed President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. His emphasis on “making digital life cheap and inclusive” set the tone for a gathering aimed at breaking barriers and driving positive change.

The second day of the meeting maintained the momentum, focusing on “unleashing tomorrow’s technology today.” Sessions were dedicated to building a connected Africa, with distinguished speakers like Lacine Kone sharing their perspectives and expertise.

The overarching theme of the GSMA MWC Kigali Series was crystal clear: the mobile industry had the potential to be a force for good in the realm of climate action. Climate change is an existential threat that humanity must address, and the mobile industry is poised to play a significant role in this global battle.

The mobile sector has made significant strides by collectively developing an industry-wide climate action roadmap with the ambitious goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, aligning with the Paris Agreement. The commitment of around 80% of the global mobile industry by revenue to disclose their climate impacts, energy consumption, and GHG emissions through the CDP global disclosure system was a testament to their dedication. Moreover, over 60% of the industry had committed to science-based targets, a pledge to rapidly reduce carbon emissions over the next decade.

The mobile industry’s proactive approach to addressing climate change didn’t go unnoticed. It was recognized as one of the first breakthrough industries, with the GSMA serving as an accelerator for the UN Race to Zero initiative. The Mobile for Development’s ClimateTech program was furthering these efforts, aiming to foster greater integration between digital technology and climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience strategies, particularly in low and middle-income countries.

TAHMO’s mission aligned seamlessly with these global efforts. The Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory (TAHMO) was on a mission to develop an extensive network of weather stations across Africa. These stations would provide critical current and historical weather data essential for various applications, including agriculture, climate monitoring, and hydro-meteorology. TAHMO’s presence at the GSMA MWC Kigali Series was a testament to their commitment to harnessing the power of mobile technology for the betterment of Africa and the planet.

In Kigali, a shared vision for climate action, innovation, and a more connected world brought people and organizations together. It was a glimpse into a brighter, more sustainable future where mobile technology played a pivotal role in the fight against climate change. As the event concluded, attendees departed with renewed determination and a sense of purpose, ready to continue their collective journey towards a more sustainable and climate-resilient world.

Author: Cyuzuzo Honore

In September 2018 TAHMO was invited by Winrock International to participate in a workshop in Dakar, Senegal on: ‘‘Sustainable Climate Information Services (CIS): Expanding CIS delivery through innovative financial and business arrangements’’.
After the welcome speeches done by Julia Bradley-Cook (USAID); Filipe Lucio (GFCS Director, WMO); and Robert O’Sullivan (Winrock International) who also gave a brief introduction of the Sustainable CIS project and a review of the agenda.
The workshop was divided into two sessions: A review of metrics to assess the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) capacity and a review of the NMHS financial planning tool. In summary, the workshop allowed the organizers to present both Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) metrics:

1. Observations and Monitoring; 2. Research, Modeling, and Prediction; 3. Climate Service Information System; 4. User Interface Platform; and, 5. Capacity Development.) and the WMO NMHS Categories (1. Basic Climate Services; 2. Essential Climate Services; 3. Full Climate Services; and 4. Advanced Climate) Services. These two schemas were combined by WMO to create a new framework to guide the NMHS enterprise in identifying their needs and finding resources through either donor, private or PPP.

Dr Theophile MANDE, the representative of TAHMO in the workshop contributed to the discussion by sharing TAHMO’s experience in working with NMHSs reporting on both positive elements and challenges.
In terms of challenges four groups could be identified:
Administrative challenges
Having MoU signed with NMHSs (which is sometimes really difficult and it can take several years);
Having NMHSs staff involved in the station installation, monitoring

and

maintenance;
Have experienced localhost (Not enough skills or

overexploited

competences);
Need a lot of

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(at least one per village where we have stations installed).
Economic challenges
Acquire the stations
The cost of the installation and maintenance
Paid field staff (Engineer; Directors; local Host)
Equipment challenges
Local conditions (access to sites; safety etc.)
Sensors breaking; dust and batteries
Software update
Station cleaning (rain gauge)
Data sharing challenges
On this particular challenge, several questions arise: How to share data? With who? Under which conditions (free, sell)?
For TAHMO these data have to be free at least for scientific needs but deep exchanges with NMHSs are necessarily knowing that data production is their first activity and source of income.
Success
TAHMO achieved building strong relationships with several NMHSs with around 25 MoU signed and a network of more than 500 stations installed from which more than 90% are running. The data collected is frequently checked by TAHMO QA/QC team which ensures good quality data. These data are also easily available through the network.
TAHMO’s participation and contribution at the workshop were very much appreciated by the organizer and an appointment was made for the next workshop.
On behalf of TAHMO, Dr. MANDE thanked WINROCK and its partners for inviting TAHMO to this workshop which appears to be very rich and relevant for both NMHS and Private structures such as TAHMO. A details study of these approaches will be done by TAHMO aiming to adapt them to their needs; the representative of TAHMO believes that this tool (if accepted and used by NMHS after validation) will help improve both (administrative and financial) relationships between NMHSs and Private Sectors which will be clear and win-win.

On March 15, Kenya was put on partial lockdown after 2 COVID cases were reported in the country.  Alongside the government-imposed dusk-to-dawn curfew, schools were closed and movement restricted. Within a week, the lockdown wave had spread to most East African countries. It created a sense of panic, fear and uncertainty. This hit our team hard because our work involves traveling, meetings and working with schools. I wondered how we would carry on with field activities.

At TAHMO East Africa, we have an elaborate guideline for field work that ensures we provide high-quality data. If a weather station is faulty for instance, our first point of contact is the host who checks if the issue is minor and where possible resolves the issue. But if the issue is more complicated, one of our technicians/meteorologists/engineers visits the site. Additionally, we have put up structures for preventing station failures. One way is by yearly preventive maintenance where we visit all the stations to identify any potential future problems and resolve them beforehand.

When lockdown came along, we were at the peak of our yearly stations maintenance. I also had scheduled travels, clients to meet, projects to initiate and projects to push forward. All this put me in a limbo. Top on my list of attention was how our team would carry along repairs. There are no two ways with weather stations. If it is not working, data not captured will never be recovered. But how then would we carry on with the activities with COVID challenges?

In Kenya, most stations are hosted in schools. When schools shut a big number of teachers relocated. We did not have effective communication with the hosts anymore. Traveling to the sites was a challenge too. You would be comforted with several fears – caught out of time due to delays in screenings mounted in roadblocks, or at worst, being put on government quarantine.

By mid-April, we had put up a structure where more people would help with field activities. In Kenya for instance Victor (TAHMO Engineer) involved former interns and volunteers living in areas where we could not travel to assist with some of the work. In Rwanda, Honore (TAHMO Engineer), trained new technicians via zoom that would take work in areas in regions he was unable to travel.

At the time of this writing (mid-July 2020) countries are easing restrictions. There is less fear – we have probably learned to carry on with our work amidst the challenges. TAHMO East Africa Network improved tremendously in the last two months. Not everything is working right, and we do not expect everything to be smooth soon. There is still a sense of uncertainty about how the future will look after COVID.  But we will keep the hope and develop more ways of keeping our work going.

May blog 2023

Why Your Local Weather Prediction Could Be Wrong .tahmo May 2023 blog

Have you ever checked the weather forecast, only to find out that it was completely wrong? It can be frustrating, but there are many factors that can influence the accuracy of weather predictions. Let’s take a closer look at why weather predictions aren’t always spot on.

Weather predictions are developed by complex mathematical equations that take into account various variables such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, air pressure, and more. However, even with all this data and sophisticated models, there are still many factors that can influence the accuracy of weather predictions.

One of the most significant factors is the availability of accurate data. Weather predictions depend on the collection of precise and timely data from various sources, such as satellites, weather balloons, ground-based weather stations, and radars. If the data is incomplete, outdated, or inaccurate, the predictions are likely to be less reliable.

Another factor that can affect the accuracy of weather predictions is the complexity of the atmosphere itself. The atmosphere is a chaotic and dynamic system, which means that even small changes in one part of the system can have significant impacts on the weather in another part. This makes it challenging to predict the weather, especially over longer time horizons accurately.

Finally, weather predictions are always subject to a degree of uncertainty. Weather models are based on probabilistic forecasts, which means that they provide a range of possible outcomes rather than a definitive answer. It’s important to keep this in mind when interpreting weather predictions and to understand that unexpected changes in the weather can always occur.

Fortunately, organizations such as TAHMO are working to improve weather prediction accuracy. TAHMO is building a network of high-quality weather stations across Africa that provide reliable real-time data. This data can be utilized to improve weather prediction models and help make weather predictions more accurate.

So, the next time you check the weather forecast and it doesn’t come out as predicted, don’t be too hard on the weatherman. After all, weather predictions are simply predictions and not facts. It’s important to understand the limitations of these predictions and to keep in mind the many factors that can influence their accuracy.

Written by Gilbert Mwangi, Technical Director TAHMO

With climate change increasing its mark on all aspects of the hydrological cycle, societies all over the world living in flood-prone areas are increasingly exposed to flood hazards. In many parts of the world,
especially in less developed areas, societies lack knowledge and data to predict future flood events.

By predicting a future flood event, an organization creates a time frame to implement a mitigating action that reduces the financial damage inflicted. In recent years, the development of new measuring techniques has significantly lowered the cost of collecting data and information on different aspects of the hydrological cycle.

These developments enable organizations in regions restrained of knowledge and data to establish methods to analyze aspects of the hydrological cycle, thereby predicting the probability of a flood hazard several hours or days in advance. This thesis explores various possibilities for designing and implementing an Early Warning System (EWS) for the Bus Rapid Transport System (BRT) in Dar es Salaam.

The EWS design is based on the forecasting requirements, investigated with the BRT-system. Several operational forecasting methods are available. The EWS designed in this thesis makes use of rainfall data obtained from rainfall stations located in the Dar es Salaam region, installed and managed by the Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory (TAHMO).MoreFinal_Thesis_Markus_Pleij_4238001

My name is Honore, and I am a Field Engineer at TAHMO here in Rwanda. My main work is to maintain the network of TAHMO weather stations and act as a representative of TAHMO here in Rwanda.

We have 16 Automatic Weather stations which are distributed in 4 Provinces. Most stations are in Kigali municipal and in the Northern Province.

I joined TAHMO in 2018. My initial goal then was to restore the transmission capacity of Rwandan Stations which had been offline for a while.

The culture at TAHMO has a way of elevating my execution capabilities; it emphasizes staff making decisions and following up with them. The culture also emphasizes planning and innovation. We also have a great support team among ourselves and the management.

Since March 2020 when COVID-19 hit Rwanda (and the world), I had to change a few things. It was difficult to work from home and hope to maintain a high rate of productivity.  Now we use techniques like TeamViewer to maintain stations remotely. I also keep close contacts with the hosts of the weather stations who helps us troubleshoot minor issues.

I was the only TAHMO field engineer when I started. In 2020, I trained 2 volunteer assistant technicians; Jean and Elie. They have been working in northern and southern provinces. I am happy they have quickly adapted to TAHMO culture and are very helpful.

A School-2-school interactive event was held at St. Monica’s Senior High School at Asante Mampong in Ghana. The event was at a request of the host teacher who has just taken over the responsibility of the TAHMO Station.

It was a short and successful event. The opportunity was to provide students with the following:

  1. Brief background of TAHMO and its activities;
  2. TAHMO station – parts and how it works, type of data collected and access to the data;
  3. Importance of weather stations and climatic data; and the
  4. School-2-School Initiative.

The students and teachers were made aware of TAHMO and its activities. TAHMO operates 600+ Automatic weather stations on the African continent. These stations are located in 23 countries in Africa. TAHMO supports all the national meteorological agencies that it works with by providing access to its data.

TAHMO stations collect data for all the weather parameters – solar radiation (sunshine hours), rainfall, wind speed, wind direction, temperature, relative humidity, and atmospheric pressure. These sensors were pointed out to them as well as the data logger that stores and transmits the data.

Climate or weather data borders on security, as reliable and accurate data, help save the environment, lives, and properties. Weather-related disasters like flooding and drought impact can be minimized with accurate and reliable data. This will help provide adequate warning to the people in the affected region, area, or community ahead of the impending disaster. The students were made to understand and appreciate these as critical use of weather or climatic data.

The sch2sch Initiative is the platform designed to link or connect the schools that host TAHMO stations. To ensure this, access to the data from the station in the school is given, educational materials to support teaching and learning and regular interaction sessions are also provided. This is to ensure the station is not detached but facilitates learning at the school.

The TAHMO school-2-School program brings excitement as TAHMO host schools are informed, educated, and entertained on this platform.

St. Monica’s Senior High School is a single-sex (girls) school located at Asante Mampong in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. It is one of the top schools in the region and the country at large. It offers avenues for students to study science, business, and arts. The school became a TAHMO school in 2017 when it hosted a station.