By GABRIEL AGBEJA

The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has inaugurated an Artificial Intelligent (AI) research and integration team to advance weather forecasting innovation.

NiMet’s Director-General, Prof. Charles Anosike, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, said the move was part of the Agency’s drive to strengthen innovation, digital transformation, and service delivery in meteorological and climate services.

According to him, the inauguration underscores NiMet’s commitment to complement decades of physics-based forecasting with emerging AI-driven approaches.

This, he said, was in line with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda and the ongoing modernisation of meteorological services in Nigeria.

“The newly constituted technical team is tasked with identifying opportunities, standards, and best practices for the application of artificial intelligence in meteorology, and with driving the integration of AI-based tools into NiMet’s operational forecasting systems.

“The initiative is expected to enhance the speed, accuracy, and accessibility of weather predictions through hybrid AI–traditional forecasting models,” NiMet’s D-G said.

According to him, building internal AI capacity is critical to sustaining NiMet’s leadership in technological innovation among government agencies.

He said that emerging technologies were responsibly deployed to support aviation safety, agriculture, disaster risk reduction, and national development.

“Members of the AI Research and Integration Team were drawn from across the Agency’s units, reflecting a multidisciplinary approach to innovation.

“The inauguration marks another milestone in NiMet’s ongoing efforts to leverage digital technologies and research-driven solutions to deliver world-class meteorological services in Nigeria.” He said. (NAN)