GMet partners Danish counterpart to enhance service delivery

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Mrs Marianne Thyrring exchanging the signed documents with Mr Asuman. With them are Mr Nørring and Madam Boateng

The Ghana Meteorological Agency (GMet) has signed a partnership agreement with the Danish Meteorological Institute, to enhance GMet’s capacity and expertise to deliver authoritative and pertinent climate information services.

Launched yesterday in Accra, the agreement, dubbed ‘Strategic Sector Cooperation on Meteorology and Climate,’ would augment GMet’s capabilities to furnish timely and relevant meteorological forecasting services, including contributions to Ghana’s Early Warning Systems.

The partnership would further assist the GMet in bolstering its digital proficiencies to effectively manage and leverage historical weather and climate observation data.

Director General of GMet, Eric Asuman, said the partnership was necessary to reinforce the agency’s capacity for strategic and political analysis.

He explained that due to the threats of climate change and its challenges, ranging from scorching droughts that threaten agricultural heartland to unpredictable rainfall

patterns that disrupt food security and extreme weather, it was critical that Ghana build collaborations to be able to access the necessary tools to understand, anticipate, and adapt to the changes.

Mr Asuman said “in accordance with our respective mandates, the GMet and the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) are eager to collaborate on endeavors that advance the strategic objectives of GMet and the Government of Ghana within the realm of Meteorology and Climate Science.”

He explained that the overall thematic focus was to strengthen the use of climate and meteorological information in climate adaptation planning and in Ghana’s early warning systems.

The project will support capacity strengthening of Ghana Meteorological Agency within technical areas and within strategic management and promotion of GMET climate and meteorological services, Mr Asuman said.

He said under the cooperation, Ghana Climate Atlas was being developed through a collaborative effort between the GMet and the Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI), to help build resilience, inform decisions, and safeguard Ghana’s future.

Mr Asuman indicated that “the role of the Ghana Meteorological Agency goes beyond data collection; it extends to creating awareness and building the capacity of different sectors to interpret and utilise climate information and the information that would be provided in the climate atlas.”

Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Tom Nørring, said the agreement was the latest partnership after three others on maritime, water and statistics.

He noted that Ghana was among the most vulnerable nations to climate change, and commended the country for leading by internationally speaking on behalf of the most vulnerable nations.

Mr Nørringsaid Denmark would support Ghana to adapt to climate change, and spearhead climate actions for the green transition in agriculture (food security), renewable energy, environmental protection and urban development.

Technical experts from the DMI and other Danish institutions are very prepared to support the realisation of these outcomes,” he added.

Deputy Minister of Communications, Ama Pomaa Boateng, said the partnership symbolised the commitment of the respective governments and representatives to collaborate, innovate and achieve key milestones in climate and weather related activities.

“Recognising the limitations and challenges faced by GMET like most national, meteorological and hydrological institutions in Africa, we firmly believe that a cooperation with DMI will strengthen and enhance the operations of GMets,” she stated.

Ms Boateng noted that the government of Ghana was focused on helping to achieve the nine key priority areas identified in the cooperation agreements, which according to her included capacity building, data management, communication and technology, climate modeling, to facilitate the growth of GMet.

BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS