Using Satellite Rainfall Estimates to Enhance Climate Services in Africa

Information on climate impacts applied in development policy, planning and practice opens opportunities to build resilience to the negative impacts of climate variability and change, and maximize gains from favorable conditions. Thus, availability of and access to climate information is critical to achieving climate resilient development. Unfortunately, climate information is not widely used in Africa to make development decisions. This is mainly because useful information is often not available or, if it does exist, is inaccessible to those that need it most. Climate observation networks in many parts of Africa face many challenges that limit the ability to provide even the most basic of climate information for informing development. The International Research Institute for Climate and Society, in collaboration with the national meteorological agencies and regional climate centers, has been leading an effort to simultaneously improve the availability, access and use of climate information at national level. This effort, named Enhancing National Climate Services (ENACTS), focuses on the creation of reliable climate information that is suitable for national and local decision-making. Satellite rainfall estimates are critical inputs for reconstructing historical rainfall time series going back over 30 years. The main advantage of the satellite products is the excellent spatial coverage at increasingly improved spatial and temporal resolutions. The ENACTS approach has so far been implemented in 10 countries and two regional climate centers in Africa.