Ethiopia is prepared to share reliable and timely meteorological data with member states of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), announced Engineer Habtamu Itefa (PhD), Ethiopia's Minister of Water and Energy.
Dr. Habtamu Itefa held discussions with IGAD officials and representatives from water ministries of IGAD member countries on various issues concerning the sector. During the meeting, he highlighted that drought, floods, and hurricanes are recurring natural disasters in IGAD member states, leading to significant damage to human life, livestock, and property.
He emphasized that yesterday's discussion aimed to prevent damages caused by natural disasters through organized and coordinated meteorological data exchange among member states. He stressed the need for analyzed and organized meteorological information to proactively mitigate natural disasters, underscoring that such efforts require robust cooperation among nations. Dr. Habtamu added that the ongoing consultations among member states will create a conducive environment for this collaboration to materialize.
The Minister pointed out that 60 percent of Ethiopia's meteorological stations are equipped with modern technology. He affirmed that Ethiopia is currently sharing its significant capacity in this sector with regional countries and is ready to make reliable meteorological data accessible to neighboring nations in the future.
Abdi Fida, Head of IGAD's Climate Prediction and Applications Centre, stated that the exchange of meteorological data among member states plays a crucial role in preventing disasters. He pledged IGAD's commitment to facilitating this data exchange and expressed plans to expand Ethiopia's best practices in meteorological data management to other countries.