The rainfall in sub-Saharan Africa is inconsistent to say the least and this can have extreme and often disastrous effects on African society and economy because of people’s dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
However, work to improve the livelihoods of people living in the region has been hampered by uncertainty in weather forecasting and the lack of a joined-up process bringing scientists, communities and policymakers together.
The recurrent crises since 2010 have been a clear and ever-present demonstration of these barriers. Even as the 2010 East Africa crisis loosened its grip, another food security crisis unfolded in the Sahel region due, mainly, to a erratic and patchy 2011 West Africa rainy season.
How people adapt to these crises is absolutely crucial. It has never been more important, therefore, to address the huge disconnect between scientific research and the awareness of policymakers and communities about these outputs and how to use this knowledge.
This succinctly illustrates the challenge for AfClix (the Africa Climate Exchange), whose focus is to communicate weather and climate information that links and sustains local people. A key element is securing access to reliable and timely information to make informed decisions about how to absorb and mitigate impending shocks, and ultimately how people can thrive despite these shocks and long-term change.
AfClix is funded through a Natural Environment Research Council Knowledge Exchange Fellowship, with significant additional funding from the National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS) - Climate Directorate, the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and The University of Reading and its Walker Institute for Climate System Research.
Different from other initiatives, it taps directly into the grass-roots science community that it has sprung from, connecting people and creating opportunities for cross-discipline, cross-continent collaborations.
Its single aim is to ensure that all climate-related policy decisions towards improving food security in sub-Saharan Africa can be made with access to the best-available scientific information.
Initially the programme was working in Senegal and Sudan. Lessons from these exchanges, detailed below, and other parallel activities are continuously applied in the context of AfClix to develop early-warning systems in Senegal and Sudan that, it is hoped, will be developed across the region.
Since its launch, AfClix activities have grown considerably and resulted in numerous cross-sector collaborations, of which these are just a few: