Facts about Ethiopia

Previously in Ethiopia, as the awareness of the need to collect climatic data increased, climatological stations were established by various organizations such as the Water Resource Development Authority, to meet their particular needs.

Most of these stations are located in large towns. In some of these stations, the lack of continued observation has created serious data gaps. Data, collected by more than one organization was not centralized and therefore, could not be fully utilized.

Moreover, in remote regions there is a considerable gap in network of stations. These are areas which appear to have provoked little interest in the past, but for which development projects are now proposed or are foreseable.

The need to make established stations continuously operational, to centralize and store data, to ensure a rational distribution of stations and to make effective use of the available data, led to the establishment of the National Meteorological Service Agency in 1973 E.C. (1980).

The establishment of this Agency has led to improvements in data acquisition. Though data acquisition is the primary function, the most important and ultimate objective is the production of information that assists in planning and management for current and future national development projects.

These include making available summarized and analysed data which interprets climate for all users.

As can be seen from the map, rainfall stations are the most numerous. In Ethiopia, as is true for most of Africa, rainfall is by far the most important element of climate, for it is a basic resource in the increase of agricultural production.

Meteorological information not only promotes increased production but also reduces vulnerability to extreme climatic conditions.

Rainfall is a climatic element liable to considerable variability and since it is critical to food and water supplies it requires a dense network of stations for short and long term monitoring. This high degree of variability from year to year requires a long period of observation.

Usually data of 30 years or more, is needed to establish norms and frequency distribution and also for research into possible trends and cycles of drought.

The Meteorological Service Agency is continuously establishing higher grade climatological stations with improved standardization of instruments and methods of observation to increase the range of climatic data.

(Source: National Atlas of Ethiopia)