The Wits Climate Risk Modelling project has been awarded a significant grant from the Bezos Earth Fund’s AI Grand Challenge for Climate and Nature to “lead a ground-breaking project aimed at transforming weather forecasting across the African continent”.
The project is led by Professor Rendani Mbuvha from the Wits School of Statistics and Actuarial Science, and will use advanced artificial intelligence (AI) to deliver accurate, high-speed weather and climate predictions in regions where current systems are “insufficient”.
“We’re thrilled to democratise skilful AI-driven weather forecasts that will generate multisectoral impact across the Global South,” says Mbuvha. “This grant award is a vote of confidence in our work and inspires us to accelerate inclusive, community-informed solutions for climate resilience.”
The Bezos Earth Fund launched the AI Grand Challenge with a total commitment of $100m (about R1.85bn) to “support bold, AI-powered ideas aimed at addressing climate change and biodiversity loss”.
Bless the cold front down in Africa
Wit’s Climate Risk Modelling project was selected as it aims to address the lack of reliable weather data and forecasting infrastructure, particularly in rural and underserved areas that depend on rain for their agriculture.
Africa only has one-eighth of the weather station density coverage recommended by the World Meteorological Organisation. This scarcity limits access to accurate early-warning systems that are critical for climate adaptation, says Wits.
The university-led project aims to help close this gap by expanding observation networks. It will set up automatic weather stations in underserved areas. It will use all of the data –combining ground-based, satellite, and historical climate data – to build robust, open-access forecasting models.
By securing this Phase I grant, worth $50,000 (R925,000), the Wits team is now eligible to further compete for a Phase II implementation grant of up to $2m (about R37m) to further develop and scale the project over the next two years.
With this week’s cold front looming, it’s a pity this hasn’t happened sooner.
