Air Pollution: NiMet increases pollution monitoring stations, overhaul weather systems at airports

The Director General, Nigerian Meteorological Agency NiMet Prof. Mansur Matazu says the agency has increased the presence of its air pollution monitoring stations across the country.

He said it has installed new ones in Sokoto and Maiduguri to track pollution dispersion and provide pollution forecasts.

Prof Mansur Matazu who disclosed this to newsmen in Lagos said, it is also part of their responsibility to monitor pollution.
He explained that at present, the agency had also acquired 200 additional automatic weather stations currently being installed and implemented across the country.

According to him, this had increased its network of operations and also utilisation of data and information from such stations to help improve the precision on its forecasts.

“We are planning to network other stations that are not being operated by NiMet such as stations in Nigerian River Basins Authority stations, Water Boards and other critical areas. We are really trying to expand so that we will be able to cover the whole of the country. This is a continuous process but presently we have done more than 200”.

He also explained that observation stations have been expanded while the agency co-signed MoU with more than 20 universities adding that presently, they have increased its stations by about 113 across higher institutions in the country.

On renovation of crew briefing rooms, at the four major airports in the country, the NiMet boss disclosed that the agency has started overhauling the pilots briefing rooms at the  Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt.

He said NiMet has gotten approval for the maintenance and overhaul of 6 low level windshear systems for 6 major airports with the equipment on ground to ensure flight safety.

“And for the 6 major airports we have independent forecasting offices with the state-of-the-art gadgets in the form of satellite radar, low level windshear alert systems, a lot of automatic weather monitoring stations of thunderstorms, windshear monitoring and all forms of forecast that we provide”.

Prof. Matazu explained that the agency in the past one year has embarked on more than 50 infrastructural projects across the country which include the construction of climate change modelling centre at meteorology institute in Katsina state.

On training, the NiMet boss said the agency has commenced large scale specialised training for its staff with more than 700 people trained in one year to improve on their productivity and give excellent services.