The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Climate Services Centre (CSC), which monitors and predicts extreme climate conditions in the Region, convened a training workshop for Member States Climate Experts on the ClimSA Station for Water, Energy and Food (WEF) sector specific services from 29th May to 2nd June 2023 in Johannesburg, South Africa. .
The training prepared staff from all Member States on theoretical and practical aspects required to use the ClimSA Station (or CS) to support climate services within their national frameworks for climate services (NFCS). The ClimSA Station is a platform for retrieving, processing, and visualising climate and earth observations datasets for the implementation of climate services.
The workshop provided an overview of the CS platform and its features; described the portfolio of products available on the CS; participants understood the initial configuration of the CS (including activation of products portfolio of interest); understood the process of data acquisition, ingestion, processing within the CS; and built their capacity in data analysis and visualisation, to generate maps, graphs and workspaces; among others.
The workshop was attended by two experts from the National Meteorological/Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in the SADC Region, a climate expert from each NMHS working on climate and applied meteorology and stakeholders’ climate services requirements, and an Information Technology/climate and remote sensing expert.
The training capacitated Member States to use the CS for delivery of climate services to the WEF sector; and optimised the use of equipment provided to Member States through the Intra-ACP Climate Services and related Application (ClimSA) Programme. SADC ClimSA takes place within the framework of an existing Financing Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific group of States Secretariat (ACP Secretariat) and the European Union (EU). The programme has been approved under the intra ACP Cooperation – 11th European Development Fund - Strategy Paper and Indicative Programme (2014-2020) programming actions for the ACP regional organisations/institutions and countries.
The goal of the SADC ClimSA Programme is to contribute to the efforts of SADC Member States to adapt to climate change and climate variability by providing science-based climate prediction and information services into national and regional planning processes. It aims to strengthen the climate service value-chain through building the capacities of decision-makers at all levels to make effective use of climate information and services.
The ClimSA Programme is implemented by the SADC CSC together with the programme’s technical partners: WMO, JRC, EUMETSAT and the OACPS Secretariat.
