NiMET Provides Efficient System to Communicate Weather Report to Airlines

•Group:  Forecast failure led to farming disaster in Kwara

Chinedu Eze and Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has migrated to more efficient system to communicate to pilots by introducing e-flight folder that provides virtual access to comprehensive set of flight briefing applications – weather reports to pilots/airlines.

Such weather reports play critical role in flight safety, especially in-flight take-off and landing and the new system has replaced manual equipment, which diminishes better planning and safety decision.

The agency said the deployment of the e-flight folder is part of its ways of embracing digitalization and innovative technological tools.

But in another meteorology forecasting related development, a major farming disaster has hit communities in Asa Local Government Council of Kwara State following the failure of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency’s (NiMet) 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP), which thousands of farmers had relied upon for planting decisions.

In a statement issued in Ilorin yesterday, a leading pro-democracy and civic advocacy group, Kwara Must Change (KMC) in Kwara State described the forecast of the NiMet 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP) as “a huge failure” with devastating consequences for food security, rural livelihoods, and farmer confidence.

Meanwhile, speaking during a stakeholders’ forum held in Lagos, the Director General and CEO NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike, also introduced the Aeronautical Meteorology Bulletin for proper understanding of meteorology in the aviation industry, saying that it would help airlines, pilots, air traffic controllers, and ground services to anticipate and manage weather-related challenges.

“Creating a safer and more trustworthy weather ready aviation environment is key to our success as we strengthen and expand our quality management systems – ISO Certifications,” Anosike said, adding that recent certification of Enugu Airport, brings the total ISO-certified airports in Nigeria to five, which includes Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Port Harcourt and Enugu with plans underway to add more airports to the list.

Anosike said that over the years, NiMet as a critical enabler of the Early Warning System, has remained steadfast in observing and monitoring the Nigerian atmosphere for potential hazards, taking records of meteorological elements, making weather and climate predictions across various timescales and ensuring timely communication of weather and climate information.

Further according to him, this is particularly in providing reliable early warnings that help safeguard aviation, agriculture, marine & blue economy, water resources, energy health, disaster risk reduction, building and construction, telecommunication and many other sectors.

“Our flagship product, the Seasonal Climate Prediction (SCP), is a critical early warning tool for farmers, livestock practitioners and other sectors of the economy, providing information on the onset and cessation dates of rainy season; length of rainy season; annual total amount of rainfall; dry spell occurrence; little dry season; temperature forecasts; climate and health, and their socio-economic implications.

“Furthermore, a co-production process is implemented, involving relevant stakeholders in weather sensitive sectors to achieve an informed user tailored weather forecasts and translated into Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, and Pidgin to improve uptake.

“Through partnership with various stakeholders across the country we are able to downscale and disseminate the seasonal climate prediction yearly to communities to enable better planning and climate smart decision-making,” he explained.

Also speaking at the event, the Managing Director, Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Farouk Umar Ahmed, said in aviation industry, climate change poses significant effect in disrupted flight schedule, route changes, increased risk of accident and increase in pilots and air traffic control workload, leading to stress and fatigue.

“Climate-related factors like turbulence and extreme weather events increases the risk of incidents and/or accidents.  Heat-related issues affect aircraft performance.

“It also leads to airport infrastructure damage resulting from rising water levels and extreme weather (thunderstorm) at the airports, increased maintenance cost at airports due to damage resulting from extreme temperature or thunderstorm effects,” the NAMA boss said.

Ahmed who was represented by the Director of Operations, NAMA, Tayo John, noted the stakeholder forum is the right gathering to discuss and offer domesticated and tropicalized solutions to some of the challenges – observed in the climate, either as a result of nature or some of our errors, action or inactions.

“As professionals in our various fields, we owe our community a responsibility to proffer workable solutions to the climatic issues bedeviling our society, to prevent disasters on the ground or in the air,” Ahmed said.

During his goodwill message, the Director General, Nigeria Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Captain Alex Badeh, said the theme of the stakeholders’ forum, ‘Early Warnings: Raising Awareness on Climate Risks and Promoting Early Action,’ was both timely and critical, as climate risks continue to pose significant challenges to Nigeria’s socio-economic development, particularly in sectors like agriculture, disaster management and transportation.

“NiMet’s Seasonal Climate Predictions (SCPs) and early warning systems have been instrumental in enhancing safety and resilience across these sectors.

“At the NSIB, we deeply value NiMet’s contributions, which have supported safer transport operations by providing critical weather insights that inform our safety investigations and recommendations,” Badeh said.

He commended the NiMet, under the leadership of Prof. Anosike, for fostering collaboration and inclusivity through this platform, bringing together stakeholders to share expertise and drive actionable solution.

Meanwhile, concerning accurate forecasting, the Kwara Must Change (KMC) group in Kwara State recalled that NiMet’s 2025 Seasonal Climate Prediction projected that rainfall in Asa would begin on May 7 and end on November 18, giving farmers nearly 195 days of rainfall to cultivate their crops. However, the reality was dramatically different.

The group noted that after early showers in May, rainfall stopped abruptly in June, disappeared entirely in July, and recorded only two isolated instances in August.

Consistent rains only resumed in September, leaving a three-month drought during the peak growing season.

This unprecedented rainfall pattern destroyed crops across Asa, wiping out the investments of farmers who had already spent heavily on land preparation, seedlings, and fertilizers.

Many are now counting their losses in what they describe as “the worst season in living memory.”

However, KMC which monitors governance and social development in Kwara, expressed alarm at the scale of devastation, accusing NiMet of undermining the very farmers it was meant to support.

According to KMC Convener, Mr. Abdulrazaq Hamzat in a statement said that, “the forecasting failure goes beyond scientific error and borders on policy negligence.

“NiMet’s failure to capture the critical three-month cessation of rain between June and August is not just a technical oversight but a disaster of national importance. Agriculture is the lifeline of Kwara’s rural economy, and when institutions fail at such a critical point, the consequences are far-reaching”.

The group has demanded an urgent explanation from both NiMet and the federal government, insisting that farmers deserve accountability and corrective measures to prevent a repeat of the crisis.

KMC also called on the Kwara State Government to provide immediate relief packages for affected farmers in Asa, warning that food shortages and worsening poverty could result if support is delayed.

In addition, Kwara Must Change advocated the establishment of localized weather monitoring systems across the state to complement national forecasts, arguing that grassroots data could improve reliability and restore farmer confidence.

“This is a wakeup call. If national forecasts continue to fail, farmers will either abandon them or abandon farming altogether. Both outcomes are disastrous for our economy and food security,” KMC warned.

As Kwara farmers struggle to recover, agricultural experts are also questioning whether Nigeria’s climate forecasting system is adequately equipped to handle the fast-changing realities of climate variability, especially in rain fed farming communities.