In Tanzania, a lightning strike killed a teacher and six students in 2015 – another sad example of the thousands of deaths that could easily be avoided with the effective deployment of modern weather and climate services. Providing these services not only saves lives, but is also central to building resilience to climate change, empowering nations and strengthening livelihoods across Africa’s most vulnerable communities.

UNDP supports climate information and early warning system projects in 11 African nations through its Programme on Climate Information for Resilient Development in Africa (CIRDA). The Global Environment Facility-funded CIRDA programme will launch a new report in Marrakech that explores A New Vision for Weather and Climate Services in Africa. The report calls for enabling actions by African leaders to support the sustainability of investments in weather and climate services, looking toward public-private partnerships, next generation weather and water monitoring technologies, regional cooperation and capacity building as key drivers to resolve sub-Saharan Africa’s persistent challenges in maintaining sustainable climate information and early warning systems.