Regional workshop on strengthening the hydrological monitoring, development of the Hydrological Status and Outlook System and interoperable Early Warning System platform for the targeted Nile Basin countries

Under the framework of the Water at the Heart of Climate Action (W@HCA) project implemented in the Nile Basin countries (2023 – 2028) which is funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kingdom of Netherlands, WMO is leading the EW4All pillar 2 related activities mainly to strengthen the hydro-meteorological observations, monitoring, forecasting and establishment of the early warning system. The initial phase of the project involves conducting national and regional baseline studies on hydrological needs and capabilities on flood and drought monitoring, forecasting, and early warning systems (EWS) in Ethiopia, Uganda, Sudan, Rwanda, and South Sudan. Following the baseline study, it is agreed with the NMHSs to strengthen hydrological monitoring and develop HydroSOS and Impact-based forecasts with interoperable platforms to support the development of the EWS in the Nile Basin targeted countries.

For this, WMO is planning a joint face-to-face technical workshop for the targeted countries in Addis Abba, Ethiopia between 07-11 April 2025, especially working with the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) to present and discuss the needs and capacities for strengthening hydrological monitoring (observation), developing status and forecasting products through HydroSOS, and generating early warning services to the stakeholders including the population. The two-day interoperable visualization platform workshop will be to understand needs and identify the appropriate characteristics of platforms and databases at the regional, national, and local levels suited to the needs of an end-to-end Early Warning System. It is expected that the tool will integrate the need to connect various databases, and products, to connect information in ways useful to stakeholders warning messages.