The Director-General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Prof. Sani Mashi, says there has not been any air traffic accident linked to weather within the last ten years.
Mashi, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said the agency had enhanced its capacity to monitor weather activities within airports and along flight routes across the country.
“Go through the record, you will see that, within the last ten years, there has not been any air traffic accident that has been linked or remotely linked to weather.
“Why has that been possible? We have increased our capacity to forecast.
“We have increased our capacity to monitor not (only) directly within the vicinity of the airport, but (also) along the major routes that aircraft fly within the country.
“We give adequate briefing to those in the aviation industry.’’
Mashi said that NiMet had also developed strategies to provide timely weather information to farmers in the agriculture sector so as to guide to better them to crop productions.
He also said that the agency had embarked on sensitisation programme to create awareness on the danger of weather events, especially thunderstorms, rains and temperatures through its quarterly bulletin.
Mashi said that the agency was currently faced with challenges of inadequate weather stations and activities of vandals in communities where its equipment are located.
He therefore called on host communities of NiMet installations to support the agency by securing such installations to forestall the negative consequences to air and weather hazards.
The NiMet boss said the agency had concluded arrangements to commence the provision of forecast services to the oil and gas sector of the economy.
According to him, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has certified NiMet to extend its services into the sector after evaluation of its technical capability.
“For the oil and gas sector, we can only provide these services if we are given the necessary clearance by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
“They said they have to come and audit us to know our capability; whether we have the technical capacity to provide the services.
“They came and saw what we have and came to the conclusion that we can offer these services. So two months ago, they gave us the clearance.
“They wrote the oil companies to inform them that NiMet has been given clearance to participate in the sector.
“Recently, Shell Company advertised that they need a company to provide meteorological services; Shell already contacted us and we are responding to that.’’
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