Maputo, 20 Apr (AIM) – A new weather radar station, budgeted at 2.4 million dollars, was installed on Tuesday in the central Mozambican province of Sofala aimed at strengthening the observation and early warning systems.
The new facility was funded by the African Development Bank Group (ADB) through the post-cyclone Idai reconstruction programme.
Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi inaugurated the radar station. He explained that “the radar will help to monitor extreme events that the county has been facing. The geographical location of our country puts us in a situation of cyclical vulnerability to climate change with devastating impacts.”
“Cyclone Freddy [which hit especially the central province of Quelimane, killing 127 people] and the other cyclones that previously hit the country are the most visible and recent examples of an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events”, he added.
According to Nyusi, the adaptation to the new reality constitutes a sustainable response to climate change.
He believed that the relatively small death toll from Cyclone Freddy was due to the existing early warning system, which will now be consolidated by the new radar.
“The radar will issue alerts, as well as guarantee the capture and dissemination of information in real time. This will reduce the vulnerability of communities, saving our economy from negative weather events”, he claimed.
The ADB has so far funded the acquisition of 11 automatic weather stations, in the context of expansion and modernization of weather observation instruments in Mozambique.
(AIM)
cc/ad/pf (255)
