In Sub-Saharan Africa, the operational implementation of regional Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models remains a significant challenge due to limited financial and technical resources, insufficient understanding of tropical weather systems, and the inadequate performance of global models in simulating rainfall over the region. Although recent developments—such as cloud computing and convection-permitting models—offer new opportunities, forecasting intense rainfall events, often linked to mesoscale convective systems, continues to be a major limitation for effective early warning systems.
Within the framework of the SLAPIS Sahel project, a development cooperation initiative, the Regional Training Center in Italy designed and implemented a blended and integrated training programme aimed at enhancing the capacities of the National Meteorological Services (NMSs) of Niger and Burkina Faso. The objective was to enable local forecasters, modelers, and IT personnel to operationalize regional NWP chains in support of hydrometeorological early warning systems.
