Nigeria’s weather chief, Professor Charles Anosike, has taken on a bigger continental role after being elected President of the Board of Governors of the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development, ACMAD.
The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, emerged president for a four-year term at the 24th Ordinary Session of the ACMAD Board of Governors in Cotonou, Benin Republic.
His election comes at a critical time as African communities continue to grapple with floods, droughts, extreme heat and other weather-related disasters that destroy homes, disrupt livelihoods and threaten lives.
The new ACMAD president is expected to provide strategic leadership in strengthening the Centre’s governance, partnerships and delivery of reliable weather and climate information across Africa.
For farmers deciding when to plant, families living in flood-prone communities and authorities preparing for extreme weather, timely warnings can mean the difference between being prepared and suffering devastating losses.
Professor Anosike’s emergence is therefore expected to strengthen Nigeria’s role in continental efforts to improve early warning systems, build climate resilience and protect lives and property from growing weather and climate risks.
The ACMAD meeting, held alongside the 22nd African Climate Outlook Forum, ACCOF22, brought together members of the Board of Governors and key institutional partners to review the Centre’s progress and set its strategic direction.
