Lagos Hydromet Meeting Sets Investment and Partnership Priorities for Climate Resilience

The Lagos meeting established three connected priorities for 2027–2028, giving the Alliance a practical agenda for converting shared commitments into funded projects and stronger national services.

The Alliance for Hydromet Development concluded its 2026 Annual Meeting in Lagos, Nigeria, with a renewed commitment to coordinate investment, strengthen national institutions and secure lasting support for weather, water and climate services that protect communities, support economic development and build climate resilience.

Hosted by the Government of Nigeria through the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), under the Federal Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, the meeting ran from 13 to 15 October and marked the first time the Alliance's annual gathering was held in Africa.

The theme, "Partnerships, Innovation and Sustainable Investment in Weather, Water and Climate Services", brought governments, development and climate-finance institutions, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), international and regional organisations, businesses and other partners together to discuss how coordinated funding and stronger institutional foundations can keep essential services operating reliably over the long term.

Nigeria puts national investment and partnerships at the centre

Nigeria's Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Olorogun Festus Keyamo, told the opening session that sustained investment in weather, water and climate services was necessary to protect lives, safeguard investments and support informed decisions across aviation, agriculture, disaster risk reduction and the wider economy.

He reaffirmed the government's commitment to strengthening NiMet through institutional reforms, digital transformation and its Strategic Plan 2026–2030, calling for closer partnerships with development institutions, financial organizations and businesses to provide the funding, technology and expertise needed to meet growing demand.

Professor Charles Anosike, NiMet's Director-General and Chief Executive Officer and Nigeria's Permanent Representative with WMO, described how public investment can work alongside private financing and technical expertise, drawing on the agency's partnerships across aviation, agriculture, insurance, maritime activities and other economic sectors.

NiMet's specialized services and products designed around users' needs showed how authoritative weather and climate information can guide everyday operational decisions, helping businesses and public agencies reduce risks and improve productivity. Anosike said Africa accounts for approximately 30% of the global deficit in basic weather and climate observations, explaining that public budgets alone cannot meet the substantial costs of building, upgrading and maintaining global and regional monitoring networks.

Participants stressed that partnerships offer more than additional funding, providing access to specialist skills, digital platforms, technology and different ways of delivering services, with arrangements that protect the authority and public responsibilities of NMHSs.

Alliance assessments help countries turn needs into financing

WMO President Dr Abdulla Ahmed Al Mandous highlighted progress since the Alliance's launch in 2019, including Country Hydromet Diagnostics and Hydromet Gap Reports that help countries identify weaknesses in national capacity and give development partners a shared evidence base for investment decisions.

Nigeria's experience demonstrated how this work can build expertise across countries, with NiMet moving from receiving technical support and helping pilot the diagnostic methodology to serving as a peer reviewer for Burkina Faso, Liberia and Somalia.

The Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) has provided another route from identifying gaps to financing improvements, offering long-term financial and technical support for basic weather and climate observations since its establishment in 2021 through Alliance collaboration and its co-founding by WMO, UNDP and UNEP.

Looking towards 2030, Al Mandous called for greater investment in NMHSs, stronger legislation and institutional governance, broader partnerships with key economic sectors and deeper regional cooperation, stressing that assessments must lead to investment, lasting capacity and early warnings that prompt action to save lives and livelihoods.

Three priorities will guide work in 2027–2028

The Lagos meeting established three connected priorities for 2027–2028, giving the Alliance a practical agenda for converting shared commitments into funded projects and stronger national services.

Mobilizing and coordinating investment will involve turning Country Hydromet Diagnostics into project proposals ready for financing, bringing development partners and financial institutions together around country priorities through the WMO-led Partner Coordination Mechanism, and improving NMHSs' access to climate and development finance.

Strengthening national institutions will focus on better governance, predictable domestic funding and sustainable business models that cover continuing operational needs, giving national services the resources to maintain equipment, retain expertise and deliver reliable information.

Public-private engagement and innovation will draw on country experience, including NiMet's partnerships, to bring private-sector expertise, technology and service delivery approaches into work shaped by users' needs.

The Alliance also intends to strengthen its collective advocacy for NMHSs among governments, Ministries of Finance and Planning, development banks, climate funds and businesses, making the case that these services are critical national infrastructure requiring sustained investment.