Emma Okonji
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), have referred to as on governments, regulators, and meteorologists throughout globe, to safeguard entry and interference to radio frequency spectrum important for climate forecasts, early warnings, local weather monitoring and water administration.
The attraction got here with the discharge of a brand new joint handbook, titled: ‘Use of Radio Spectrum for Meteorology: Weather, Climate, Water and Related Environmental Applications.’
The new publication by ITU and WMO, supplied up to date steering on the use and safety of radio frequencies supporting crucial meteorological programs. These programs allow observations of the ambiance, oceans, and land, and the transmission of information that helps life-saving early warnings, dependable climate forecasting, and long-term local weather monitoring.
The ITU-WMO handbook, formally launched on the opening of the Global ITU-WMO Seminar on Spectrum Use for Meteorology, additionally highlighted the potential impression of radio-frequency interference on the accuracy and availability of important environmental knowledge.
Speaking on how finest to defend radio spectrum from interference, Secretary-General of ITU, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, mentioned: “Preventing harmful radio interference is a matter of public safety and can save lives. Interference-free spectrum keeps weather forecasts accurate, emergency alerts and warnings timely, and climate data reliable. With this, communities can prepare, respond and build resilience.”
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, mentioned: “The radio-frequency spectrum is a finite natural resource. Meteorology relies on specific bands — determined not by choice, but by the physical properties of the atmosphere itself: they enable observations that no other frequencies can provide. These bands must be protected. Protect the spectrum that lets us observe the atmosphere, and we protect forecasts and early warnings on which every country depends.”
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), has made a number of forecasts on climate throughout areas, with warnings on attainable flood in some components of Nigeria. NiMet’s prediction and warning stems from the replace it will get from the radio spectrum band assigned to Nigeria by the ITU, which it seeks to defend globally.
For occasion, NiMet lately predicted a mixture of three-day rainfall, sunshine and thunderstorms throughout Nigeria from Monday October 12 to Wednesday October 14, 2026. The company envisaged thunderstorms accompanied by reasonable rainfall over components of Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Lagos, Imo Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo and Delta states, and warned that robust winds may precede thunderstorms in affected areas and urged residents to safe unfastened objects to stop accidents.
According to ITU, some satellite tv for pc sensors measure very weak naturally occurring alerts at particular frequencies, making safety from dangerous interference notably necessary.
“Weather radar, lightning location programs, plane and marine observations, hydrological monitoring programs, and different platforms additionally depend on these frequency bands to gather and change knowledge, “Bogdan-Martin mentioned.
In order to defend crucial international useful resource like radio spectrum, ITU mentioned consultants on the forthcoming WMO-ITU occasion would evaluation current and upcoming worldwide spectrum choices related to meteorological and earth statement companies, together with outcomes of the most recent ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences.
The ITU World Radiocommunication Conferences got here because the demand for wi-fi communications, satellite tv for pc companies, and environmental knowledge continues to develop, underscoring the significance of making certain continued entry to, and safety of radio-frequency spectrum for earth statement.
“Radio frequency interference can degrade the accuracy and availability of significant knowledge wanted for early warning programs, climate forecasting, and local weather monitoring. Such impacts can have an effect on the flexibility of governments and communities to put together for and reply to environmental hazards.
“Bringing technical, operational, and regulatory steering collectively in a single useful resource, the brand new handbook helps knowledgeable decision-making on spectrum administration and promotes collaboration between the meteorological and radiocommunication communities, “ITU mentioned in an announcement.
