The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMET) said that it has procured and installed seven automatic message dissemination platforms at Abuja, Kano, Lagos, Maiduguri, Kaduna, Enugu and Port Harcourt airports.
The Director-General, NiMET, Prof. Mansur Matazu, made this known at the weekend at the first edition of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) National Aviation Conference (FNAC) held in Abuja.
Matazu, explained the equipment would further enhance safety of humans and equipment in the industry and ensure accuracy in information dissemination.
Matazu, in a paper titled, ‘Enhancing Aviation Safety for Sustainable Development: The Role of NiMET,’ disclosed that the same automatic message dissemination platforms would be procured for Sokoto and Katsina airports in the coming months.
NiMET, he said also has upper air stations at Abuja, Enugu, Lagos, Kano, Maiduguri, Jos, Calabar and Yola.
The NiMET boss also revealed that the agency has also secured and installed 10 NiMet-Earth Network Lightening Detecting and Automated Weather Observing System (AWOS) stations in Abuja, Lagos, Benin, Sokoto, Kano, Maiduguri, Ilorin, Yola, Enugu and Port Harcourt airports.
AWOS, he explained, is a fully configured airport weather system that provides continuous, real time information and reports on airport weather conditions and that the agency has six radar stations in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Yola, Maiduguri, Kano and Lagos airports.
According to Matazu, “Prevention of weather occurrences is beyond human’s technological thrust. It took scientists and industry experts a great deal of effort over many years to understand the complexity of many weather phenomena like windshear and others. Early warning and detection mechanisms have proven to be the only dependable solution to the hazards of weather and climate.”
“In NiMet we work round the clock to provide continuous weather information. This weather information is perishable and must be consumed at the right time. We therefore encourage all our stakeholders, especially pilots and the flying crews to take advantage of our products and services and ensure safety of lives and property at our airports and en-route destinations,” he added.
He also appealed to stakeholders in every section of the economy, especially aviation, to take advantage of the agency’s mobile app and website for regular information on seasonal climate predictions, adding that this would go a long way to save unnecessary losses.
He explained that NiMet had moved from just generating forecasts to producing forecasts with implications.
In his words, “Our clients and stakeholders are not only foretold but also forewarned of likely impacts of the predicted weather and climate events.
“In aviation, weather and climate information provides a safe and safe way of executing our activities in order to minimise risks, save lives and avert losses.”
