Mobile networks to support massive upgrade of Africa's weather monitoring

Stuart Corner
Friday, 19 June 2009 10:24

Business IT - Technology

Mobile cell sites are ideal locations for weather monitoring: they can provide physical infrastructure, power and connectivity. Ericsson and mobile carriers plan to use them to increase Africa's weather monitoring stations from a mere 300 to over 5000, and Ericsson is looking to do the same thing in Asia Pacific.

The Global Humanitarian Forum and its president, former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, Ericsson, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), mobile telecommunications company Zain, and the Earth Institute at Columbia University, have launched the initiative, dubbed "Weather Info for All", in response to Africa's severe gap in weather information highlighted at the Forum's first annual event.

The 5,000 weather stations will be installed at new and existing mobile network sites throughout the continent over coming years, a move the backers say will save lives and bring increased economic opportunity to tens of millions of people by providing a massive increase in crucial information to predict and manage climate shocks.

Africa's current weather monitoring network is presently only one eighth of the WMO minimum recommended standard, and less than 200 of its 300 weather stations meet WMO observation requirements, compared to several thousand in each of Europe, North America, and parts of Asia.

However, an Ericsson spokesman said: "More accurate weather information is needed in various areas including the Pacific, Latin America, and Asia. After the African continent, island states in the Pacific will be considered, but nothing specific has been finalised at this stage."

According to Ericsson thee move represents "An innovative public-private partnership on a unique scale." It will tap Ericsson's relationships with African operators such as Zain, who will host the weather equipment at mobile network sites being rolled out across Africa. However, Ericsson notes that "Achieving the 5,000 target would require additional operator commitment and external financing."

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