The session at the Africa Climate Summit will build on these efforts by bringing together Directors of Meteorological Services from Kenya, Uganda, and Ethiopia to explore concrete pathways for domesticating the RFCS at national level. The session will specifically focus on how air quality can be systematically embedded into NFCS implementation, thereby strengthening multi-hazard early warning systems, improving public health outcomes, and ensuring co-benefits for agriculture, urban resilience, and climate action.
Objectives of the side event
The side event at Africa Climate Week 2025 will:
- Showcase national experiences from Ethiopia, Uganda, and Kenya on how air quality is being embedded into National Frameworks for Climate Services (NFCSs), drawing lessons from city- and national-level initiatives.
- Present technical pathways for harmonizing meteorological and environmental data within NFCS architectures, covering the full value chain: observation, modelling, service delivery, and user engagement.
- Facilitate a high-level exchange among Directors of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) to explore institutional opportunities, policy entry points, and governance mechanisms for integrating air quality into NFCSs.
- Advance regional recommendations for systematically including air quality in NFCSs, in alignment with the IGAD/EAC Regional Framework for Climate Services and Africa’s broader priorities on multi-hazard early warning systems under the Sendai Framework.
Expected Outcomes
- Technical Roadmap outlining concrete steps for integrating air quality services into NFCSs across the value chain (observations, modelling, service delivery, user engagement).
- Consensus Recommendations from NMHS leadership on institutional pathways and governance mechanisms for mainstreaming air quality.
- Regional Positioning for embedding air quality into the IGAD/EAC Regional Framework for Climate Services (RFCS), with proposed submission to AMCEN and COP30 as part of Africa’s climate and multi-hazard early warning agenda.
- Partnership Opportunities identified to scale existing pilots into national and regional programs, leveraging the comparative strengths of UNEP, SEI, ICPAC, and collaborating NMHSs.
Target audience
- National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs)
- Ministries of Environment, Health, Energy, Transport
- Regional bodies (IGAD secretariat and its specialized agencies, EAC, , ACMAD, WMO Africa)
- Development partners and donors (UN agencies, GCF, AfDB, World Bank)
- Civil society and academic institutions engaged in climate and air quality science.
- Ministers in charge of Meteorological Services in IGAD and EAC Regional Economic Communities
- IGAD and EAC Secretariat, and Representatives Divisions and units
- Regional and sub-regional representatives of WMO, AUC and ACMAD, Directors and PRs of WMO from IGAD and EAC communities
- UN agencies, World Bank, AfDB, development partners,
- Experts from the Horn of Africa countries and regional bodies.
- Private sector representatives and media organizations
Partners
- Conveners: UNEP, IGAD/ICPAC, SEI
- National NMHSs: EMI, UNMA, KMD
- Collaborators: WMO, WHO, Africa CDC, AfDB, Africa Union, academic and technical institutions.
