ECMWF is implementing two Global Gateway actions in Sub-Saharan Africa that aim to strengthen science, technology and innovation capacity for risk-informed, evidence-based and inclusive development in the green transition sectors/areas:
- Strengthening Early Warning in Africa (SEWA). SEWA aims to strengthen early warning systems for hazardous weather and climate‑related events across Sub‑Saharan Africa using space‑based data, numerical weather prediction, and impact‑based forecasting.
- Africa Regional Centres of Excellence (ArcX) on Climate Change Resilience. ArcX supports African regional hubs of scientific and technical excellence in key environmental and climate domains.
Both actions are closely aligned with the African Union’s Integrated African Strategy on Meteorology (Weather and Climate Services), which aims to strengthen the capacities of African countries to generate and use weather and climate services for sustainable development.
The actions will also contribute to the implementation of the UN-led "Early Warnings for All" (EW4All) initiative and the Africa Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Action System (AMHEWAS) initiative. This includes providing support and building capacity within the African meteorological community to develop and use advanced tools for weather nowcasting.
Other ongoing projects at ECMWF in support of stakeholders in Africa
- ACACIA (Horizon Europe): Improve the efficiency, usefulness and application of sub-seasonal early warnings in Ethiopia and Madagascar
- I-CISK (Horizon Europe): Evaluation of cold wave forecasts and Early Action Protocol in support of anticipatory action ahead of cold wave events in Lesotho
- WMO Pilot Project on Forecast in a Box in Malawi (together with MET Norway and funded by CREWS)
- Represa (funded under Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CLARE) initiative): Impacts of landfalling tropical cyclones in Madagascar, Malawi, and Mozambique
- SEED-FD (Horizon Europe): Improve the quality and portfolio of CEMS flood and drought forecasts (pilot sites in Niger and Juba Shabele)
- CENTAUR (Horizon Europe): respond to societal challenges deriving from climate change threats by developing and demonstrating new service components for CEMS and the Copernicus Security Service (use cases in Mozambique, Mali, Somalia)
- Strengthening Early Warning Systems for Anticipatory Action (SEWAA): Provision of early warning systems that can be utilised in improving the decision-making process by the different stakeholders over Eastern Africa