Improving access to multi-model rainfall and river stage forecasts in eastern Africa and northern India

With funding from NASA and The World Bank, the National Center for Atmospheric
Research (NCAR) has partnered with local and state agencies in India and Africa to
improve their access to accurate rainfall and river stage forecasts for hydrological
applications on timescales ranging from 3 hours to 3 months. These partnerships with
local water ministries, utility companies, and engineering firms have worked to identify
specific needs and challenges, and then provide applicable forecast data in real-time in
desired data formats and/or through flexible visualization tools. The tools developed at
NCAR 1) automatically download rainfall forecasts in real-time, 2) optimize those
forecasts using bias-correction and multi-model averaging, and 3) provide customized
real-time rainfall data feeds and visualizations. Trainings and other face-to-face visits
have increased communication between NCAR and the user agencies, and all tools
have been developed using open source technology, allowing them to be run at local
institutions without any licensing restrictions. In the hands of the local agencies, these
tools will enable better allocation of water resources for farming and hydropower, while
providing advance warning to protect homes, crops and lives from damaging floods.