14 UFA ASpot

Webinar on hydrology in Africa

Online: 24 August 2023

Earth Observation for Hydrology in Africa

14 UFA ASpot
14 UFA ASpot

Monitoring and managing water resources, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions, are crucial for the wellbeing of communities. Africa, as the most vulnerable continent to the adverse impacts of climate change, faces challenges such as changing rainfall patterns, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and floods. This free webinar, open to all, discussed the benefits of hydrological products for Africa and how to best access satellite-based hydrological data.

Last Updated

21 September 2023

Published on

26 July 2023

Hydrological data play a vital role in monitoring and managing water resources. They help governmental agencies to manage the use of water resources, to mitigate water-related disasters, to improve goods transportation in rivers, as well as to plan for climate adaptation. They also support growth in various economic sectors that are dependent on weather and hydrology, for example by helping farmers to increase crop yields and by enabling people to safely evacuate risky areas before a flood hit.

However, there is a lack of ground observation data and early warning coverage in Africa.  Space-based observations from satellites, such as precipitation estimates, soil moisture, evapotranspiration, and river level information, have the potential to improve the monitoring of hydrological parameters, and are crucial for sustainable water resource management, flood forecast and climate adaptation.

EUMETSAT is committed to supporting data users in Africa with products covering the entire African continent. EUMETSAT provides operational products for hydrology, notably through its Satellite Application Facilities (e.g. the SAF Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management (H SAF), and Land Surface Analysis SAF).

 

Webinar recording

Session #1

Introduction

8:00 - 8:15

Welcome & introduction

Moderator

8:15 - 8:30

International Water Diplomacy in Africa: Issues and Challenges

Olivier Cogels

8:30- 8:40

Earth Observation products in support to Hydrology (overview)

Silvia Puca, H-SAF

8:40 - 9:00

Q&A

Moderator

Benefits for River Basin authorities

9:00 – 9:15

EO support to navigation on Congo River and subsidiaries (GMES&Africa)

Georges Gulemvuga, CICOS

 

9:15 - 9:30

Water resources and flow monitoring by satellite

Bachir Alkali Tanimoun, NBA

9:30 - 9:45

Earth observation to support the mandate of the NBI

Zeleke Kebebew Challa, NBI

9:45 - 10:00

Q&A

Moderator

 

Lunch break

 

Session #2

12:00 - 12:05

Welcome

Moderator

Floods Early Warning

12:05- 12:15

GMES & Africa: Flood monitoring in West Africa

Ganiyu Ishola Agbaje, CSSTE

12:15 - 12:25

Floods and Water Resources Forecasting in GHA

Mohammed Hassan, IGAD

12:25 - 12:35

ARC use of EO for flood insurance

François Kayitakire, ARC

12:35 - 12:45

The use of Earth observation data in National Hydrological Services in South Africa

Jeremy Naidoo, South Africa Hydrological service

12:45 – 13:00

Q&A

Moderator

Access to EO hydrological data & knowledge

13:00 - 13:15

 

The Hydrology SAF: Soil moisture product

Luca Brocca, H SAF Soil Moisture Team

13:15 – 13:30

The Hydrology SAF: Precipitation product

Luca Ciabatta, H SAF Precipitation Team

13:30 – 13:40

Land-SAF - Evapotranspiration products

Miguel Barrios, RMIB

13:40 – 13:50

Applications of the Altimetry & SWOT missions over Africa

Jean-François Cretaux, LEGOS

13:50 - 14:00

Q&A

Moderator

14:00 - 14:05

Closing Remarks