In the face of increasingly devastating floods, Jean Bienvenido Dinga, head of the National Hydrological Service of the Republic of Congo attached to the Institute of Research and Studies in Natural Sciences (IRSEN) in Brazaville, and hydrological advisor of the Republic of Congo to the WMO, speaks to MTI about the key technologies and techniques he’s deploying to save lives and infrastructure on the front lines of the climate crisis.
As a physical chemist and hydrologist, I’ve spent my life examining water in all its forms and distributions. For the past 14 years, I’ve served as head of the National Hydrological Service of the Republic of Congo, working to improve our understanding of Congo’s hydrology and develop its operational services for the people who need them the most.
Now, as a hydrological advisor of the Republic of Congo to the WMO, I’m continually working to improve the use of hydrological observations more widely. As there are often recording issues in my country, this entails working closely with the equipment, technology and data currently in use to relay accurate information and data models to the WMO and help the global population.
Beyond this, I’m also an active expert member in various WMO groups such as in the WMO Commission for Observation, Infrastructures and Information Systems (INFCOM), the ETT Earth HydroNet (Chair of the Data Policy Group); expert member of RA I, HWCP, Lead Capacity Building Group; expert coordinating and championing water quality; and member of the Hydrology Coordination Panel (HCP).
Today’s pressing challenges
We suffer from extreme flooding in my country. In December in particular, flooding will kill hundreds of people and destroy much of our equipment. For the past five months, my priority has been working on a proposal for the World Bank, which will see the institution help deploy a lot of technology in our country.
This has been a prime focus for me because the government urgently needs the data this equipment would bring to make informed decisions for the whole community. This will be essential to help us breathe, give information to the population and save lives.
Key technologies
Recently, in collaboration with the Ministère des Transports et Voies des Communications of the République Démocratique du Congo, we installed 38 automatic weather and hydrological monitoring stations – 26 hydro-pluviometric monitoring stations and 12 synoptic weather stations. Each hydro-pluviometric monitoring station is equipped with a rain gauge, water-level sensor and temperature and relative humidity sensors to enable real-time data collection and provide warnings. The 12 synoptic weather stations are equipped with a full range of sensors capable of monitoring several parameters, including wind speed and direction, air temperature and relative humidity, solar radiation, soil moisture and temperature at three soil depths, and atmospheric pressure. All stations are connected via satellite equipment (DCP) and, where coverage allows, via GRPS modem to the Kinshasa Data Collection Centre.
Beyond this, we have CIMA Research Foundation equipment and use acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP), sonar and other fieldwork instruments to collect long-term data of hydrology variables such as rainfall, water levels and river flow, and calibrate the long-term monitoring equipment. We also have OTT Hydromet’s radar and pressure level sensors.
I was recently asked what advice I would give to someone in my position looking to address similar challenges. After much thought, I said that there’s no quick way to facilitate our job. Instead, it’s better to expect hard work and make the effort. If you do put in the work, the WMO and its experts are there to help you and your country. They have experience and training from many countries. They can organize technical training for your country. We need everyone to embrace the WMO’s young research students and work with the program.
Another one is that technology is expensive. Further, it’s even more expensive to maintain long-term. It’s just not worth implementing new technology if you’re going to lose it in three years and sacrifice conventional forecasting methods and knowledge in the process.
That’s why in my country, for example, when I implement new technology, I make sure to have the budget to maintain it for years to come. I also keep the hardware and the mechanic together so we hold onto that all-important knowledge. As climate change continues to increase the severity of extreme weather, it’s of the utmost importance that we invest in our monitoring systems, collect accurate data and save lives.
