Chinedu Eze
Early warning and availability of data about impending severe weather phenomena have been described as the first and critical step in weather disaster risk reduction by any country.
Director General of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Dr. Anthony Anuforom made this disclosure recently in Enugu in a keynote address on “Reducing Climate Change Vulnerability in Africa: the Role of Science, Engineering Technology and Innovation (SETI) at the 6th Regional Conference of Vice Chancellors, Provosts, Deans of Science, Engineering and Technology (COVIDSET 2015).
Anuforom observed that Africa is the most vulnerable continent to the impacts of climate change, but noted that early warning is an essential part of emergency preparedness for prevention or mitigation of impending calamity due to bad weather.
“Early warning is an essential part of emergency preparedness. It enables relevant agencies, communities and individuals at risk to plan and execute necessary precautionary measures such as evacuation of people at risk before the occurrence of a severe weather event, thereby reducing exposure to hazards”, Anuforom said.
The Director General also noted that climate change ranks among the greatest challenges facing contemporary human society, especially as “hydro meteorological hazards contribute the largest proportion to worldwide natural disasters that threaten human lives and wellbeing”, stressing that it also “undermines sustainable development efforts of governments”.
He explained that although climate change is a global challenge, Africa remains the most vulnerable continent in the world to its impact because while the human systems are highly exposed to extreme weather, the adaptive capacity is low.
Other contributory factors to the vulnerability of Africa, according Anuforom, are weak economic and technological power, lack or inadequate Early Weather Warning Systems, (EWS) and poor logistical infrastructure.
“Other sociological issues such as local traditional and religious beliefs may also be contributory factors; the weak economy of most African countries also slows down the speed of recovery after the occurrence of weather disaster and makes the process of post-disaster rehabilitation and reconstruction more difficult”, he said.
The Director General listed agriculture in Africa as among the most vulnerable sectors to climate change in the world, lamenting that the implication of this is that “the overall economic development of Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change”.
He further noted that it was not all doomsday though, as the objective of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)’s Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) is to provide a global mechanism for better management of climate risks by ensuring the provision of adequate science-based climate information and incorporating same into policy formulation and decision making.
In another development, Anuforom has said part of national security is freedom from danger or harm and the assurance of wellbeing of a nation state, such other threats to life and property as those due to the impacts of climate change like floods, droughts, violent storms, coastal inundation and other extreme weather events.
Anuforom made this known in a speech at the 38th Annual Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Physics (NIP) at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye on Tuesday.
He gave kudos to President Muhammadu Buhari’s declaration of the federal government’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (2015-2030), and called on the Scientific Community in Nigeria, especially Physicists to key into the SDG’s by conducting research and coming up with solutions to some of the problems confronting the nation in the area of telecommunications, national security, economic development, amongst others.
Buhari, while addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York last week, gave assurances that Nigeria was committed to the realisation of the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
According to Anuforom, the contributions of Nigeria’s scientific community would be critical in helping the federal government achieve the SDG targets.
The Director General noted that national security is critical to achieving sustainable development and said it has become imperative for government to continue to accord serious attention to the impact of climate change and extreme weather conditions if national security and sustainable development are to be attained.
He said national security in contemporary times go beyond the “threats by conventional and well defined enemies such as other nation states”, stressing that for a nation to achieve national security, it “must possess and maintain the necessary infrastructure and knowledge base” to confront challenges from various other sectors of the economy.
Dana Air Partners Nigerian Economic Summit
Dana Airlines Limited has said it is partnering the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) towards the success of the 21st Nigerian Economic Summit (NES #21) scheduled to take place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja next week.
Themed: “Tough Choices: Achieving Competitiveness, Inclusive Growth and Sustainability”, the three-day Summit, which is jointly organised with the National Planning Commission would have eminent Nigerians, global private sector leaders, captains of industries, policy-makers as well as top government representatives; discuss issues relating to creating jobs, dismantling pillars of corruption, Macro-economic stability and growth, SME growth, institutional reforms, competitiveness, and Alignment of home-grown long-term development agenda with the UN sustainable development goals (SDG’s) that will take effect in January 2016.
As partner, Dana Air said it is offering complementary tickets and a special discount to all delegates upon presentation of their summit invite at any Dana Air office or point of sale nationwide.
Dana Air operates daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt and Uyo as well as Abuja to Port Harcourt and Uyo.
Ethiopian Airlines Wins Passenger Choice Awards
Ethiopian Airlines, the largest, fastest growing and most profitable airline in Africa has been voted and won the Passenger Choice Awards for “Best Airline in Africa” for the third time in a row at the APEX 2015 EXPO held at Oregon Convention Center in Portland. The Airline Passenger Experience Association is a network of the world’s leading airlines, suppliers and related companies committed to elevating the level of the airline passenger experience. APEX encompasses the largest and most comprehensive survey of passengers in 13 languages. It is the most important award in the airline industry since it is the customers themselves, who rate airlines based on their overall experience.
Chief Executive Officer, Ethiopian Airlines Group, Tewolde GebreMariam, said “As an indigenous Pan-African Global Airline, we are honored to be recognized as “Best in Africa” for the third time in a row which once again reaffirms the high quality of the service and the products we offer. Ethiopian is above all a customer-focused airline with global standard service with superior delivery through its hallmark African flavoured Ethiopian hospitality. Passenger Choice Award is the most important award in our industry since it is our customers, who rate us by benchmarking our service with others in the industry.
“The award will encourage all of us at Ethiopian to double up our efforts in the never ending pursuit of our continuous improvements in customer services both on the ground and in the air. With 91 international and 20 domestic destinations around five continents, operated with one of the youngest fleet in the industry, which is below 5 years average age; we will continue our leadership in the African Aviation industry and connecting mother Africa with its major global trading centers. I wish to thank our customers for their strong vote of confidence and for all Ethiopian employees who are working hard day-in and day-out all over the world to make Ethiopian airlines lead the African Renaissance in the 21st Century with its motto “The New Spirit of Africa.”
Finnair Becomes First European Airbus A350 XWB Operator
Finnair has taken delivery in Toulouse of the first of 19 A350 XWBs on order, thus becoming the first European operator and the third worldwide of the all-new airliner.
The aircraft is configured in a premium three-class layout, with 297 seats, comprising 46 Business Class, 43 Economy Comfort and 208 Economy.
Finnair will commence commercial services with the A350 XWB later this week, with a European tour starting at Amsterdam and Oslo on October 9th. Furthermore, on the 21st of November 2015, non-stop long-haul A350 XWB flights will start from Helsinki to Shanghai. The aircraft will join the airline’s all-Airbus fleet of 45 aircraft in operation, today comprising 30 A320 Family aircraft and 15 A330/A340s.
“Finnair has enjoyed a long and prosperous working relationship with Airbus and the A350 takes our cooperation to another level. This aircraft is the future of flying and will give our passengers a completely new and enhanced travel experience,” says Finnair CEO, Pekka Vauramo.
“At Airbus, we’re proud and delighted to see Finnair, one of the world’s longest-standing and most respected airlines, become the first European carrier to fly the A350 XWB,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President and CEO. “The A350 XWB’s unrivalled fuel efficiency and passenger comfort make it the perfect aircraft to spearhead Finnair’s Asian expansion.”
President, Civil Large Engines, Rolls-Royce, Eric Schulz said, “We are very proud to be with Finnair and Airbus today to mark another chapter in the A350 XWB story. The Trent XWB exemplifies how we take the best in technology to deliver new standards of excellence. Today marks the start of a new era in our relationship with Finnair and we look forward to working with them for many years to come.”
The world’s latest generation airliner, the A350 XWB, is the newest member of Airbus’ modern, comfortable and efficient wide-body product family. Offering customers a game-changing reduction in fuel-burn, the long-range A350 XWB features the most modern aerodynamic design, carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Together, these cutting-edge technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency, with a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and emissions, and significantly lower maintenance costs. For passengers, it brings new levels of in-flight comfort, with an extra-wide cabin offering more personal space in all classes, including 18 inch wide seats as standard in economy class.
To date, Airbus has recorded a total of 783 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 41 customers worldwide, already making it one of the most successful wide-body aircraft ever.
