By David Arome
As climate change intensifies, institutions are turning to artificial intelligence, not as a luxury, but to stay ahead of the increasingly unpredictable weather patterns. Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a critical role in weather prediction and risk analysis.
Communities are feeling the impact, and audiences are looking to the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) for timely, trusted, and life-saving weather information.
A recent review study conducted by David Ayodeji et al. on the Advancement and Future Outlook of Artificial Intelligence in Assessing Climate Change Impact in Nigeria shows that AI, such as machine learning and deep learning, is helping with climate impact assessment, including forecasting events like floods and droughts.
David stressed in the study that with strategic investments in place, the ethical governance of AI and the incorporation of emerging technologies can significantly improve Nigeria’s capacity to monitor and respond to climate change impacts.
Similarly, the Climate ML Research uses AI to revolutionize weather prediction across Africa through cutting-edge machine learning techniques and atmospheric modelling. The research group harnesses machine learning for temperature forecasting, alongside work-in-progress precipitation modelling and, soon to come, drought prediction.
Furthermore, research by Kamil Muhammed Kafi et al. employed the Support Vector Machine (SVM) models to predict and model flood risk in Bauchi, Nigeria. This indicates how machine learning can support disaster risk management linked to climate change.
In line with growing evidence, NiMET is leveraging AI to beef up its weather forecasting profile through the recent launch of an AI research team. The AI infrastructure is to amplify weather forecasting accuracy and climate services across Nigeria.
The Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Charles Anosike, has inaugurated the NiMet AI Research and Integration Team as part of the Agency’s drive to strengthen innovation, digital transformation, and service delivery in meteorological and climate services.
Anosike stated that “members of the AI Research and Integration Team were drawn from across the Agency’s units, reflecting a multidisciplinary approach to innovation.”
The inauguration underscores NiMet’s commitment to complement decades of physics-based forecasting with emerging AI-driven approaches, in line with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda and the ongoing modernization of meteorological services in Nigeria.
The newly constituted technical team is tasked with identifying opportunities, standards, and best practices for the application of artificial intelligence in meteorology and with driving the integration of AI-based tools into NiMet’s operational forecasting systems. The initiative is expected to enhance the speed, accuracy, and accessibility of weather predictions through hybrid AI-traditional forecasting models.
Anosike emphasized that building internal AI capacity is critical to sustaining NiMet’s leadership in technological innovation among government agencies while ensuring that emerging technologies are responsibly deployed to improve public service delivery.
Click here to read related post
 plays a critical role in weather prediction and risk analysis.){kind=link}