It is widely recognized that weather, climate, water and related environmental conditions have a strong influence on the socio-economic development of countries.
As fundamental elements of a country's infrastructure, Meteorological Services play a crucial role in supporting the vital functions performed by governments. They play an important role in achieving sustainable development goals and reducing the risk of disasters. Meteorological information is a measure of resilience, helping to reduce the vulnerability of populations and protect people and property.
Given the established importance of meteorological information, having an optimal system for managing and disseminating meteorological data would be a real asset.
World Weather Watch combines observation systems, telecommunications facilities and data processing and forecasting centers to make available the geophysical and related data needed to provide effective services.
I- Project context:
Cameroon, a member country of the WMO, is committed to ensuring its full contribution to the VMM global meteorological watch, by setting up an appropriate mechanism at national level. The National Meteorological Department (DMN) of the Ministry of Transport is responsible for developing and implementing the government's meteorological policy.
As part of its mission, MND collects, processes and archives data on meteorological parameters.
The development of reliable weather forecasts, and the provision of climate data and information to the civil protection, agriculture, water resources, public works, land-use planning and other sectors. This requires an efficient system for collecting, centralizing and using meteorological data.
To better monitor climatic variations and make the right decisions, it is essential to set up a network of meteorological observations and a modern climatological data bank.
Initial situation national meteorological service
The national meteorological network, which has existed for several decades, has become dilapidated and under-equipped in recent years. Many of the devices used to centralize data had become inoperative. In view of technological advances, it is important not only to equip this network, but also to put in place more efficient devices.
In view of the decisive contribution of meteorological data to decision-making on development issues, the Ministry of Transport previously embarked on a major project to digitize Cameroon's climate archives, with a view to building a modern database.
The project, which came to an end in 2020, was commended by the World Meteorological Organization. The database now serves as Cameroon's climatic memory, providing information on climate trends over more than a century.
However, due to the lack of modern tools and the absence of a more robust and efficient data management system, data exploitation and dissemination suffer from major shortcomings. There is therefore a pressing need to update this important government program, and to set up a weather watch system capable of integrating new technologies to collect quality data and provide reliable forecasts.
II- Modernization of national meteorology
Project objectives :
With the aim of substantially reducing the negative effects of weather-related disasters, and exploiting meteorology as a lever for development, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications has launched a major project called modernization of national meteorology.
AFREETECH has been selected to support the MINPOSTEL in this two-phase initiative. The aim is to equip the National Meteorological Directorate to enhance the collection and supply of meteorological data and information by :
- Optimizing the production of quality information and forecasts, with a view to providing meteorological assistance to the weather- and climate-dependent socio-economic sector.
- Improving the dissemination of weather information and forecasts with a view to establishing genuine early warning systems for sustainable and resilient development.
Consistency Project work is divided into two main activities
Activity N° 1 : acquisition and installation of meteorological equipment
An automatic weather station (AWS) is a self-contained piece of electronic equipment that replaces manual measuring instruments for observing atmospheric conditions. Automatic weather stations observe and measure basic meteorological parameters at the surface.
The first batch of project activities will involve the acquisition, installation and securing of six automatic synoptic weather stations and accessories.
Automatic synoptic weather stations will be installed in the following locations:
- MFOUNDI (Yaounde)
- KADEI (Batouri)
- MAYO LOUTI (Guider)
- NOUN (Koundja)
- MVILA (Ebolowa)
- FAKO (Tiko).
Stations must be modular to allow the integration of other sensors, and the calculation of certain parameters such as dew point, sunshine duration and potential evapotranspiration.
Installation of the automatic weather stations involves assembling the various components, and configuring the receiving equipment at the installation sites and at the national meteorological office.
This phase also includes the acquisition and installation of a radiosonde station with all the equipment required for its operation.
Activity N°2 : computer applications for managing data and disseminating weather information
The second part of the project involves the design, development and commissioning of four applications for data management and the dissemination of meteorological information.
- The implementation of a climatological data management system complying with the criteria defined by the World Meteorological Organization, as well as a web server for the concentration of meteorological observation messages. This system must meet the following requirements: ergonomics, confidentiality, traceability, scalability and performance, integrity and security.
- a web application to concentrate weather observation messages. the mobile application will be used to disseminate weather data;
- a meteorological information dissemination website, to popularize the use of meteorological data and information.
Contraints
The WMO member State of Cameroon adheres to the regulations in force and places particular emphasis on quality management and compliance with environmental standards for all chemical equipment. All the equipment supplied must comply with the ISO 9001-2015 standard to guarantee the accuracy of the various measurements and ensure that the data is of good quality.
All systems must be capable of interfacing with existing applications within the National Meteorological Directorate, and all data must be securely exchanged and shared by all systems.
Staff training :
Overall, the work will involve the acquisition and installation of meteorological equipment, and the design and development of applications for data management and the dissemination of meteorological information. The firm will then support the staff in charge of operating and maintaining the meteorological equipment and IT applications. The aim was to transfer skills to staff so that they could operate independently.
Start of work
The work began with visits to existing weather station sites. The aim is for the firm's experts to draw up site reports, noting the conditions, strengths and weaknesses of each site, and highlighting any potential risks.
In addition to analyzing the sites, the experts also conduct surveys of the staff members present at each site. The aim of these surveys is to gather as much information as possible that can contribute to the smooth continuation of project activities.
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