The public has been urged to pay extreme care to meteorological forecasts as a precautionary measure against natural disasters like floods and drought.The call was made at the just concluded regional climate outlook forum for the Greater Horn of Africa.Speaking at the closure of a three-day regional climate outlook forum, Prof. Richard Anyah, said that citizens should stop ignoring weather forecasts issued regularly by the meteorological department. “This is a serious matter which people normally don’t take seriously. This information should be put into consideration,” he said.Anyah is an atmospheric scientist and assistant professor of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Connecticut, US.He called on weather forecasters to find the best ways of communicating expected weather changes to the rural communities, who may not have access to the available mediums of communication like television and radio. “Many people do not follow TV weather forecasts. After the completion of other news, they ignore the forecasts and immediately switch to other programmes,” he pointed out.The conference aimed at exploring the sustainable solutions to climate change emergencies in the Greater Horn of Africa as well as developing a consensus for the regional climate outlook of March to May rain season.The Director of Rwanda Meteorological Agency, John Ntaganda Semafara, echoed the call. “I would advise the general public to act early before disasters strike. Forecasts are like early warnings, they help to prevent loss of lives and property when natural disasters strike,” he said According to Semafara, the regional forecast of the March to May rain season reveals that Rwanda among other countries like Tanzania, Burundi, and Uganda as well as western and southern Kenya are to receive near normal to below normal rainfall.Prof. Laban Ogallo, the Director of Intergovernmental Authority on Development Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), called for collaboration between governments and the sectors that usually suffer from climate change disasters to find solutions to disasters before they strike.“The public needs to heed these warnings and take them very seriously, and each individual has a personal responsibility to formulate a plan of where to go and what to do when the climate change disasters strike,” he noted.Abdishakur Othowar, the Disaster Risk Management Expert at Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), observed that why the public does not seem to take watches and warnings seriously is a concerning issue.“Working as a team with our governments will play a key role in reducing the negative impact of climate change to citizens,” he asserted.The three-day meeting was organised by the Ministry of Infrastructure, through Rwanda Meteorological Agency, in partnership with the ICPAC.The forum brought together national, regional and international climate scientists from Rwanda, Somalia, Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Southern Sudan and Kenya.
