Over the coming months, Ivory Coast will invest 18 billion CFA francs (27 million euros) in the rehabilitation and modernisation of its meteorological services. The announcement was made recently by the Director of National Meteorology at the Abidjan-based Société d’exploitation et de développement aéroportuaire, aéronautique et météorologique (SODEXAM).
According to Daouda Konaté, the initiative aims to improve climate monitoring, meteorological vigilance, early warning and the maintenance of meteorological equipment in the face of climate change, the devastating effects of which (floods, droughts) are holding back the socio-economic development of urban centres, starting with Yamoussoukro. Between January and March 2024, the capital and many other Ivorian cities recorded record temperatures ranging from 36 to 41°C, 6°C higher than usual.
The 27 million euros will therefore be used to improve forecasting, in particular through the acquisition of a radar to improve weather warnings, a national forecasting centre and a regional centre for the maintenance and calibration of meteorological equipment and instruments open to “the French-speaking area of West and Central Africa”, according to the Ivorian government. At the end of the works, the country of elephants will have 30 “international reference” weather stations, compared with 14 at present.
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These various installations should generate reliable forecasts in real time for the development of several sectors, starting with agriculture, climate insurance, civil engineering, energy, health, tourism and transport. This project is undoubtedly a response to the alarming report by the World Bank in November 2023, which predicted “average annual losses of gross domestic product (GDP) of 3 to 4.5%” if nothing is done to counter extreme weather phenomena.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi