His Excellency Filipe Jacinto Nyusi, president of Mozambique, has launched a national roadmap to achieve Early Warnings for All by the end of 2027. At the same ceremony in the capital Maputo, Nyusi also announced that the Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) will invest US$7.8m to install six new land surface stations, upgrade 15 existing stations and establish four upper-air stations. This investment is to improve basic weather and climate observations that underpin early warnings.
Systematic Observations Financing Facility
The SOFF investment seeks to align Mozambique with the Global Basic Observing Network (GBON) standards. Data collected with the new and upgraded stations will feed into weather and climate services, including early warning systems.
“This is a timely and much-needed investment, which will yield high returns,” said WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo in a video statement at the event. “The country lost 75% of its monitoring stations during flooding in 2000 and has been striving to recover through modernization and expansion ever since then.
“SOFF‘s investment will contribute to the government’s ambitious program of establishing One District One Weather Station. New or updated surface and upper-air stations and technical assistance will improve national meteorological and hydrological services, thereby enhancing forecasting and early warning systems that save lives and livelihoods.”
Mozambique is one of the first countries to have moved into the SOFF Investment phase. The South African Weather Service, serving as the SOFF peer advisor, will provide guidance, while the World Food Programme (WFP), as the implementing entity, will leverage its field presence and ongoing projects to complement investments in early warnings and forecast-based finance.
This collaboration hopes to target easy fixes of stations previously funded by initiatives like the Pilot Programme for Climate Resilience, the Nordic Development Fund and the World Bank, which faced lack of maintenance due to resource constraints. The aim of this project is for the National Institute of Meteorology to be better equipped to support government initiatives to bolster national resilience and disaster preparedness.
Mozambique has already taken strides in climate adaptation. The Early Warnings for All initiative, spearheaded by United Nations secretary-general António Guterres, is being effectively rolled out in Mozambique. It was officially launched at a national workshop in November 2023 and is being undertaken with the support of the National Institute for Disaster Management and the National Institute of Meteorology, in close collaboration with the National Communication Institute and the Mozambican Red Cross and with the UN Resident Coordinator’s office.
The EW4All Roadmap provides an overarching framework for a coherent and consolidated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System program that could be embedded into Mozambique’s five-year development plan. It seeks to embrace the whole of the meteorological value chain, from collecting weather and climate observation data and creating better forecasts, to improved early warning systems and better-informed climate adaptation plans.
Climate Risk and Early Warnings Systems initiative
The Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems initiative (CREWS) has also played a crucial role in building resilience in Mozambique. Under CREWS, WMO and the World Bank started working closely together after Cyclone Idai in 2019. The joint project provided international expertise for the government-led Disaster Risk Management Program, particularly in developing and implementing integrated early warning systems.
An upcoming CREWS Steering Committee meeting will discuss a US$5.5m follow-up project to build on this foundation and expand efforts in Mozambique and the broader southern African region.
“Mozambique is a country that lives under permanent threat of disasters, especially those caused by extreme natural phenomena, with floods, cyclones and droughts being the most frequent. When these adverse events occur, they leave a trail of destruction characterized by human loss and material and environmental damage or serious implications for society and our economy,” said Nyusi, who is an African Union Champion on Disaster Risk Management.
He continued, “Situated on the southeast African coast, Mozambique is regularly battered by tropical cyclones that sweep across the Indian Ocean, and related coastal and inland flooding. Over 60% of the population resides in low-lying coastal areas, heavily dependent on rain-fed agriculture, increasing the risk to infrastructure and livelihoods. The impacts of climate change have intensified these challenges, as has environmental degradation due to human activities and poor land management.
“Much can be done to reduce the loss of human life and greater harm. Advance notice helps us to do this, to protect ourselves,” the president said at the ceremony. Flanked by ministers and senior United Nations and donor government representatives, he applauded the work of WMO and Mozambique’s National Meteorological and Hydrological Service.
“Mozambique has made great strides toward Early Warnings for All and has a proven track record in saving lives. For instance, tropical cyclone Idai in March 2019 led to 603 deaths and cost US$3bn. Record-breaking tropical cyclone Freddy in early 2023 claimed 183 lives and US$176m in economic losses,” said Saulo.
“Together, we can build a future where Mozambique is not only prepared for hazardous events but resilient against them. Let us come together with one vision and one goal: to protect people, livelihoods and the future. Early warnings work. They must work for everyone,” concluded Saulo.
In related news, the SOFF Steering Committee recently received an additional US$14.7m in funding pledges to close basic weather and data gaps. Click here to read the full story.
