PUMA and ClimSA stations TOT workshop

The Africa Union Commission under the umbrella of the ClimSA program supported by the European Union recently installed and upgraded the data access infrastructure - Preparation for the Use of Meteosat in Africa (PUMA 2025 stations) and Climate Services for Sustainable Adaptation Actions (ClimSA systems), at the Kenya Meteorological Department in the month of August 2024.

The system which will utilize imagery and data captured via satellite, is vital for providing tailored weather updates and warnings, ultimately supporting various sectors, including agriculture, disaster management, and public safety. By the end of the project, 56 PUMA and ClimSA Stations will be installed and others upgraded in across the Sub-Saharan Africa countries.

Through the ClimSA programme, Kenya is the first country in Africa to receive the equipment and systems and the Institute for Meteorological Training and Research - Nairobi will be the main training centre for the English Speaking Africa Region. The training will begin today and run for a period of three weeks and will include sessions on system hardware and adminstration, maintenance and troubleshooting as well as practical sessions on using the new technology. Trainees will in turn train their counterparts in the system administration once they return to their countries. A series of more trainings will follow in the coming year.

“KMD is honored to partner with the AUC and EUMETSAT to train technical teams from National Meteorological and Hydrological Centres of the African region.” Dr, David Gikungu, Director KMD.

With the increasing frequency and severity of high impact severe weather events, there has been a need for satellite data and products with a higher spatial and temporal resolution. The system will be able to capture data from EUMETSAT's Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) satellite, that was launched in December 2022 and will provide satellite data and products ranging from fires, lightning, rapidly developing thunderstorms etc that will enable forecasters in the African region improve the accuracy and timeliness of the forecasts.

“Reliable and timely climate information is necessary to inform decision making and inform action in agriculture, food security, health among other critical sectors of the African socio-economy. These trainings are therefore timely and useful for the National Meteorological Services in Africa. “Dr. Jolly Wasambo, ClimSA Programme Coordinator

“Excited to teach on the functionality of the PUMA stations to assist in decision making for weather and climate information.” Ivan Smiljanic, EUMETSAT

“This training will enhance the forecasting skills of the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in our country which in turn will contribute to a better forecast for the users of weather and climate information.” Kizito Auma, Trainee from Kenya

The Training of Trainers (ToT) session was officially opened by the Principal Secretary State Department of Environment and Climate Change Dr. Eng. Festus Ng’eno and had participants from 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

“In the face of a changing climate, the Government of Kenya is ready to support improvement of Meteorological infrastructure to enhance observation techniques to ensure reliable, timely and accurate climate information for decision making. “Eng. Festus K. Ng’eno.