Emma Okonji
The Global Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Meteorological Organisation (WMO), have referred to as on governments, regulators, and meteorologists throughout globe, to safeguard get right of entry to and interference to radio frequency spectrum crucial for climate forecasts, early warnings, local weather tracking and water control.
The enchantment got here with the discharge of a brand new joint guide, titled: ‘Use of Radio Spectrum for Meteorology: Climate, Local weather, Water and Comparable Environmental Programs.’
The brand new newsletter by way of ITU and WMO, presented up to date steerage at the use and coverage of radio frequencies supporting essential meteorological programs. Those programs permit observations of the ambience, oceans, and land, and the transmission of knowledge that helps life-saving early warnings, dependable climate forecasting, and long-term local weather tracking.
The ITU-WMO guide, officially launched on the opening of the World ITU-WMO Seminar on Spectrum Use for Meteorology, additionally highlighted the possible affect of radio-frequency interference at the accuracy and availability of crucial environmental knowledge.
Talking on how very best to give protection to radio spectrum from interference, Secretary-Basic of ITU, Doreen Bogdan-Martin, stated: “Fighting destructive radio interference is an issue of public protection and will save lives. Interference-free spectrum assists in keeping climate forecasts correct, emergency indicators and warnings well timed, and local weather knowledge dependable. With this, communities can get ready, reply and construct resilience.”
WMO Secretary-Basic Celeste Saulo, stated: “The radio-frequency spectrum is a finite herbal useful resource. Meteorology is dependent upon explicit bands — decided no longer by way of selection, however by way of the bodily houses of the ambience itself: they allow observations that no different frequencies can give. Those bands should be safe. Offer protection to the spectrum that shall we us practice the ambience, and we offer protection to forecasts and early warnings on which each and every nation is dependent.”
In Nigeria, the Nigerian Meteorological Company (NiMet), has made a number of forecasts on climate throughout areas, with warnings on conceivable flood in some portions of Nigeria. NiMet’s prediction and caution stems from the replace it will get from the radio spectrum band assigned to Nigeria by way of the ITU, which it seeks to give protection to globally.
For example, NiMet just 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 way of average rainfall over portions of Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Lagos, Imo Abia, Enugu, Ebonyi, Anambra, Go River, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Edo and Delta states, and warned that sturdy winds may just precede thunderstorms in affected spaces and prompt citizens to safe free gadgets to forestall injuries.
In step with ITU, some satellite tv for pc sensors measure very susceptible naturally happening indicators at explicit frequencies, making coverage from destructive interference specifically vital.
“Climate radar, lightning location programs, plane and marine observations, hydrological tracking programs, and different platforms additionally depend on those frequency bands to assemble and trade knowledge, “Bogdan-Martin stated.
So as to give protection to essential world useful resource like radio spectrum, ITU stated professionals on the approaching WMO-ITU tournament would assessment fresh and upcoming global spectrum choices related to meteorological and earth statement services and products, together with results of the most recent ITU International Radiocommunication Meetings.
The ITU International Radiocommunication Meetings got here because the call for for wi-fi communications, satellite tv for pc services and products, and environmental knowledge continues to develop, underscoring the significance of making sure persisted get right of entry to to, and coverage of radio-frequency spectrum for earth statement.
“Radio frequency interference can degrade the accuracy and availability of important knowledge wanted for early caution programs, climate forecasting, and local weather tracking. Such affects can have an effect on the facility of governments and communities to organize for and reply to environmental hazards.
“Bringing technical, operational, and regulatory steerage in combination in a single useful resource, the brand new guide helps knowledgeable decision-making on spectrum control and promotes collaboration between the meteorological and radiocommunication communities, “ITU stated in a remark.