By Success Sei Kamara
The Sierra Leone Meteorological Agency (SLMet) has advanced its digital transformation following a week-long training workshop held from 2nd to 6th March 2026 at the agency’s Forecasting House, Tower Hill, Freetown.
Supported by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the training brought together SLMet technical staff and climate service experts to strengthen capacity in global meteorological data systems, early warning communication, and digital weather information services.
Supported by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the training brought together SLMet technical staff and climate service experts to strengthen capacity in global meteorological data systems, early warning communication, and digital weather information services.
Facilitators included Abubakr Salih Babiker, Marta Baraibar, and Eric Otenyo from WMO, who guided participants on using international frameworks such as the WMO Information System 2.0 (WIS2) and the Integrated Global Observing System (WIGOS) to improve data collection, monitoring, and exchange.
A key outcome of the training was the operationalization of SLMet’s enhanced ClimWeb platform (www.slmet.gov.sl), which allows real-time weather updates, interactive climate maps, user feedback management, and efficient sharing of alerts across Sierra Leone and the African region.
The workshop also focused on improving early warning systems using the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), enabling staff to compose and distribute alerts quickly via websites, messaging platforms, and social media to reach communities faster.
With these upgrades, SLMet is positioned to provide timely weather information, support disaster preparedness, and enhance climate resilience in Sierra Leone, marking a major milestone in its journey toward a modern meteorological service.
