TMA weather forecasts accuracy improves - Official

Accuracy of weather forecasts by the Tanzania Meteorological Agency (TMA) for the short rainfall season spanning October to December improved to 92.9 per cent last year from 85.8 per cent in 2015. 

An official at the weather agency, Mr Samuel Mbuya, said only 7.1 per cent of the predictions were inaccurate due to what he attributed to changes in the warming of the Indian Ocean.

“Seventy per cent of accuracy is the allowed global standard,” the Director General of TMA, Dr Agnes Kijazi told journalists during a workshop ahead of announcement of weather forecasts for the March-April-May season scheduled for tomorrow.

Dr Kijazi was confident that correctness of the predictions will improve further in the future once the agency installs additional weather monitoring stations, from the current 42 centres. “At 92.9 per cent we are far above the required global standards; weather reports are important for all sectors of the economy.

TMA is determined to issue impact-based forecasts,” Dr Kijazi noted. Mr Mbuya on the other hand, said chances were high that the country will receive normal to above normal rains during the March-April-May season, pledging to give more details at a news conference to be held tomorrow.

The official disclosed as well that the agency is currently conducting a pilot project to down-scale weather reports to district level. “We have started with few areas but our aim is to cover all districts in the country,” he explained.

In its forecasts for the short rainfall season last year, the weather agency had predicted of average and below average rains for many parts of the country.

It as well predicted of ‘slightly hot conditions’ for the season. As per the forecast, the Lake Victoria Basin along Kagera, Geita, Shinyanga, Mwanza, Mara and Simiyu regions received moderate rain showers associated with thunderstorms in some areas.

The Northern Eastern Highlands in the regions of Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Manyara regions experienced mainly dry season while Kigoma, Katavi and Tabora regions experienced isolated rain showers.