The first-ever Afghanistan weather hazards product was developed in collaboration between NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and the United States Air Force, aiding Air Force’s needs within Southwest Asia. However, the product now primarily supports humanitarian efforts for the Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS-NET) of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The Afghanistan weather hazards product is created weekly by CPC authors and details the following weather hazards: drought, flood, strong winds, blowing dust, extreme heat and cold. The goal of the product is to alert FEWS-NET personnel of potential hazardous weather situations that could adversely impact agriculture and hydrology. The users at FEWS-NET can then improve preparations for long-term agriculture planning and food security in Afghanistan and surrounding areas. The Afghanistan weather hazards is prepared using multiple sources, including climatology, real-time observations of temperature and precipitation, satellite data, and numerical weather models. Since the product reached operational status, GIS software has been used for display purposes. In the future, additional spatial layers within GIS will likely facilitate an improved weather hazards product.

Additional information on the the FEWS-NET program can be found at: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/fews/