GMet to introduce nationwide weather alerts via SMS

The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) says Ghanaians could soon begin receiving weather warnings directly on their mobile phones as part of efforts to improve access to critical weather information and reduce the impact of disasters.

The Director-General of GMet, Dr Eric Asuman, disclosed that the agency is working with the Ministry of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, the National Communications Authority (NCA) and telecommunications companies to roll out a mobile alert system before the end of the year.

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Speaking on Asempa FM's Ekosii Sen programme, Dr Asuman admitted that weather forecasts have not always reached the public effectively, a gap the agency is seeking to address through technology.

"Communication of weather forecasts to the ordinary Ghanaian has not been as effective as it should be. However, we are working closely with the Ministry of Communication to develop a mobile application that will provide timely weather alerts and notifications to the public. We expect the app to be ready by the end of this year," he said.

Beyond the mobile application, GMet is also introducing a Common Alerting Protocol, which will enable weather warnings to be sent directly to mobile phone users through text messages.

"We also want to add text messages to forecasts for wider reach. We call it the Common Alerting Protocol so that whenever we issue an alert, everyone receives it on their phone," he said.

Dr Asuman explained that the agency is collaborating with the NCA and telecom operators to complete the technical work required to operationalise the system.

"Our Minister, the Communications Minister, instructed the NCA to work on it. We have met with the NCA and they are developing a platform through which the alerts will be sent to the telecom companies," he noted.

He said GMet is also stepping up public awareness on weather forecasting by extending the annual World Meteorological Day celebration into a month-long public education campaign.

"Communication on the forecasts is not too strong. That's why we have turned the one-day celebration of World Meteorological Day on March 23 into a month-long celebration, which we call Meteorological Awareness Month," he explained.

Dr Asuman further urged the public to pay attention to weather advisories and avoid disregarding forecasts because earlier predictions did not always result in rainfall.

"The people owe it to themselves to act on any information they receive from GMet. Don't say that whenever GMet forecasts rain it doesn't rain, so you won't listen to them," he advised.

He acknowledged that the alert system was still under development when the recent floods struck parts of the country, but expressed confidence that the project would be completed before the end of the year.

"We weren't done with it, and this disaster happened. We are looking at having everything ready by the close of this year," he added.

NA/BAI

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