The Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD) has installed 154 Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), in 24 counties, to aid in providing timely and accurate weather forecasts and advisories.
Speaking in Machakos County during the commissioning of the Machakos station, Environment and Forestry PS Dr. Chris Kiptoo said a well-functioning climate service has the potential to inform a range of both short- and long-term decisions, contributing to the resilience of governments, organisations, and individuals to current climate variability.
The PS said the stations were financed by the World Bank through the Kenya Climate-Smart Agriculture Project (KCSAP), in the Ministry of Agriculture to address issues on climate change focusing on increasing agricultural productivity, enhancing resilience to impacts of climate change and reduction in Green House Gases (GHG) emissions.
“To manage climate risks, decision-makers must understand the risks well and be able to anticipate them. This is the primary aim of having a good AWS infrastructure”, He said.
He said climate change exacerbates sustainable development challenges by increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather events.
He urged policymakers to ensure that they plan various activities in line with the weather and climate forecasts, warnings, advisories and alerts from KMD, saying they cannot ignore the frequent changes in weather and climate, as their impact on our activities is evident.
The KCSAP project is implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, State Department of Agriculture and Implementing partners, Kenya Meteorological Department and KALRO.
