Innovative weather apps and their growing importance in safeguarding lives and livelihoods
The change in climate is manifesting globally, regionally and locally in rising temperatures, declining rainfall amounts, unpredictable rainfall patterns, and increased frequency and intensity of extreme climate events, notably droughts, floods, strong winds, heat waves, frost, hail, and landslides among others.
Now more than ever innovative weather apps have become important to enable planning and decision making at all spatial and temporal scales including planning of individuals daily activities. With the advent of high smart phone penetration and 4G internet in the developing world, the flow of weather information through innovative weather apps has now become seamless. This is evident through the high number of submissions from SIDs and LDCs.
For example in Kenya, access to weather information through usual modes such as television and radio broadcasts has slowly declined over the years either due to belief that the forecasts are not accurate and discontinuation of weather news by some of the major media players. Innovative weather apps have come in to fill in the gap since more and more Kenyans are embracing the use of these apps to access weather information and plan their day to day activities. This has helped to improve the economy through better planning of economic activities to safeguard livelihoods.