Within the framework of the Climate Change: early warning and civil protection – APIS, funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and implemented by CIMA Research Foundation, activities dedicated to the establishment of an Early Warning System to monitor floods and droughts are continuing. The conflict, which has affected Sudan since last April, is causing dramatic humanitarian consequences on the population: 25 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance according to the latest OCHA data
The consequences of climate change are not uniform for all regions of the world. In addition to influencing the frequency and intensity of natural phenomena such as floods and droughts, climate change has differentiated effects depending on geographical location. Moreover, it disproportionately affects the most fragile and vulnerable communities, further exacerbating socio-economic disparities and widening the gap between those with resources to adapt and those without.
Within the project Climate Change: early warning and civil protection – APIS, AICS Khartoum and CIMA Research Foundation collaborate to implement a water-related Early Warning System in the country.
The project, initiated in 2022, aims to work nationally to improve knowledge of Sudan’s risks, strengthen monitoring and forecasting tools, and the technical-scientific skills of local experts, promote inter-institutional coordination in early warning and emergency management, and, finally, increase institutional awareness of risks. The initiative is in line with the objectives of the EW4All initiative launched by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, aimed at developing an Early Warning System to ensure protection from meteorological and climatic risks for the global population.
AICS and CIMA Research Foundation aim to strengthen risk management in Sudan, particularly regarding heavy rains, floods, and droughts. The conflict that has affected the country since April 15, 2023, has profoundly changed the scenario of activities, making implementation much more complex in the face of emerging new challenges. It is now urgent to work to ensure continuity in civil protection activities and humanitarian operations in the country: the conflict exacerbates the risks faced by displaced populations and host communities and limits the capacities of the authorities in terms of logistics, personnel availability, and infrastructure.
How to navigate this context?
AICS Khartoum and CIMA Research Foundation are collaborating to implement real-time monitoring and prediction tools of the impact of extreme events on the Sudanese population, with the aim of supporting the humanitarian emergency. The goal is to strengthen the regional network of tools and connections to ensure the continuity of warning services.
Three main lines of intervention have been implemented: ensuring the continuity of monitoring and prediction services for extreme weather events, providing support to national authorities through regional partners; supporting the Sudanese National Council for Civil Defence (NCCD) in the management and coordination of the flood and drought risk; and, finally, strengthening humanitarian coordination capacities in an emergency context.
For this last action, in particular, it was possible to draw on the experience gained by CIMA Research Foundation in other conflict contexts (as happened within the PPRD EAST 3 project in Ukraine) and, on the other hand, the African Multi-Hazard Early Warning and Action System (AMHEWAS). CIMA Research Foundation, in collaboration with project partners, has developed and disseminated since August 2023 the Impact-Based Forecast (IBF) bulletin that provides information on meteorological and hydrological conditions at the national level. The bulletin, shared with organizations operating in the emergency context, focuses on aspects that most influence humanitarian activities such as logistics (transportation and movement of goods and means), extreme weather events, the presence of displaced persons within host communities, the location of mobile clinics and non-mobile humanitarian infrastructure (health centers and reception centers and shelters).
Initially, the initiative envisaged the transfer of hardware technology to start data collection, but due to the impossibility of operating in the territory due to the ongoing conflict, the data collection system was carried out with Cloud systems, making it possible to restore forecasting and alerting in time for the rainy season, between June and July.
In a context of political instability, economic difficulties, and risk associated with climate change, the resilience demonstrated by colleagues has been a source of inspiration and motivation to unite efforts in providing coordinated support in current and future initiatives. To date, we consider it of paramount importance to provide continuous technical and financial support for the implementation of the Sudan Meteorological Authority’s meteorological and climatic rescue plan for the restoration of essential services. Support is crucial especially in view of the upcoming rainy season and will be made possible through collaboration with regional partners. Furthermore, CIMA Research Foundation will actively work to facilitate coordination among the actors involved through the AMHEWAS network, which works to improve the prototype version of the forecast bulletin based on the impacts of extreme meteorological events in Sudan, in order to ensure a timely and effective response to the climate challenges facing the country.