AGRHYMET Trains NiMet and NIHSA Technical Staff
The Committee for Drought Control in the Sahel (CILSS) has concluded a one week training session for technical staff of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) and the Nigerian Hydrological Agency (NIHSA).
The training exercise is in fulfilment of one of the cardinal objectives of the Niamey, Niger-based CILSS – the transfer of tools, methods and products developed by the Committee for countries in the Sahel Region. It was conducted by a three-man team of experts from AGROmeteorology, Hydrology, METeorology (AGRHYMET). Staff of NiMet and NIHSA were in attendance at the training exercise at the head offices of NiMet.
Prof. Sani Abubakar Mashi, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet chaired the opening ceremony. He was represented by Mr. Joseph Alozie, General Manager, Climate Services at NiMet.
The DG/CEO in his opening remarks through Mr. Alozie, expressed his satisfaction with the training exercise, saying it is consonance with his commitment to enhance the Agency’s staff welfare and capacity building.
Prof. Mashi said the NiMet, Lagos office is a regional centre for data collection and e-data archiving. NiMet, in collaboration with other centres in the region, produces and issues bulletins on climate.
Dr. Abdou Ali, an expert in hydrometeorology, who headed the CILSS team stated in his remarks that one of the key objective of the training programme is to provide technical support in data management. Another is the improvement of hydro climate services for the sustenance and institutionalisation of enhanced skills in data management.
He said the capacity building in the training programme will focus on updating the CLIDATA system at NiMet, as well as imparting some state-of-the-art methods and tools in hydrometeorological data analyses and processing suitable in the current context of climate change and the use of adequate ground-based data network.
Their mission, he said, also aimed at support and development of an integrated national agrometeorological and hydrological bulletin as part of the operational rainy season monitoring in Nigeria.
The three-man team was made up of Dr. Abdou Ali, senior expert in hydrometeorology as head, Mrs. Hadiza Boubakar, IT expert and Mr.Brenard Minoungou, hydrometeorological modelling scientist.
Public Relations Unit
National Weather Forecasting and Climate Research Centre
Nigerian Meteorological Agency
Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport
Abuja
About Author
