The African Meteorological Satellite Application Facility (AMSAF) has been launched in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, signalling a significant step towards strengthening nowcasting capabilities across African countries using next-generation satellite data.
Severe weather across parts of Africa, including storms and tornadoes, has in recent years led to flooding and significant damage to infrastructure, resulting in fatalities and the displacement of thousands.
Extreme events affect millions of people across these regions each year, underscoring the urgent need for timely and accurate weather information.
The AMSAF will enable national meteorological and hydrological services across the continent to improve their own short-term forecasts, known as ‘nowcasts’ (0-6 hour forecasts), making them more robust and tailored to regional hazards and national priorities.
The initiative also supports the United Nations Early Warnings for All initiative and the African Union’s African Multi‑Hazard Early Warning and Adaptation System (AMHEWAS) framework, strengthening multi-hazard early warning systems across Africa.
The African Union Commission established AMSAF under the EU-funded Strengthening Early Warning in Africa (SEWA) project, which forms part of the European Commission’s Global Gateway Africa–EU Space Partnership Programme.
EUMETSAT, the African Union Commission (AUC), and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) jointly implement the SEWA project.
The launch of AMSAF marks a milestone in Africa’s efforts to develop indigenous capacity for weather monitoring and forecasting, enabling the continent to leverage space-based technologies to improve disaster preparedness and climate adaptation, whilst reducing reliance on external systems for critical weather information.
Source: https://spaceinafrica.com/2026/05/19/africa-launches-continental-satellite-based-nowcasting-facility-to-strengthen-weather-forecasting/