Regional Workshop on “Climate Information to enhance Resilience of West Africa Protected Areas”. Freetown, Sierra Leone, April 2012 AYILARI-NAA JUATI GHANA METEOROLOGICAL AGENCY

Overview of available climate records and trends in Ghana OUTLINE 1-Eco-climatic zones in Ghana 2-Dams within the Volta Basin. 3- Network of Observing stations in Ghana and data. 5- Decadal Seasonal Rainfall ( ) 6- Mean yearly variability of rainfall in Ghana ( ) 7 Annual rainfall and incidences of drought risk( ) 8- Recommendations

Sudan Savannah Deciduous Forest Transitional Zone Coastal Savannah Guinea Savannah Rain Forest With Climate Change and variability these Climatic zones are observed to be changing

THE VOLTA BASIN The Volta Basin Authority (VBA)made up of Six Countries

National Observing Network 22

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54

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Additional Weather stations Five(5) New Automatic Weather stations have been installed since 2011 under the AAP and one (1) AWOS for Kotoka International Airport. Two (2) New Automatic Weather stations in Navrongo and Wa in March Eighteen (18) New Automatic Weather Stations since January 2012 under the Agricultural Crop Insurance project funded by GIZ. C-Band Dual Polarization Weather RADAR

Data Types Wind Direction and Speed Cloud amount and type Air and Dew Point Temperatures, Soil Temps. Maximum and Minimum Temperatures QFE, QFF and QNH ( Pressures) Sunshine duration and Solar Radiation Piche and Pan Evaporation, Relative Humidity Rainfall Meta data.

Data Sharing issues Selected data disseminated through the GTS Challenges with Message Switching system for effective data sharing using the GTS QC and Homogeneity issues with data which dates as far back as 1950s in many stations. Lack of effective data gathering mechanisms and database management. No legal data access protocols between stakeholders within the country and the sub- region

Average seasonal yearly Rainfall over Northern Ghana ( 1971 to 2007) Rainfall variability here can be as high as 400mm

Yearly seasonal mean Rainfall in Transition belt in Ghana( ) Significant Variability exhibited in this zone

Yearly seasonal mean Rainfall in Forest areas in Ghana( )

Average yearly Rainfall over Coastal Ghana ( 1971 to 2007) Rainfall can vary as high as 650 mm

Mean decadal Rainfall for 25 stations across Ghana from 1979 to 2008 Rainfall Distribution similar in the three decades for the 21 stations

High Incidences of drought around Kete-Krachi ( ) High Incidences of drought around southern Central, Western and Volta Regions, like, Ada,Kpetoe, Tsito, Cape Coast etc High Incidences of drought to the Western parts of northern Ghana High Incidences of drought around Nkwanta area.

Here high Incidences of drought covering most of the Western part of Ghana. ( ) Areas around Kete-Krachi, Southern Volta, Central and Western Regions as well as Eastern Coasts are much affected ( )

CLIMATE CHANGE SCENARIOS (SRES) SHOULD BE CUSTOMIZED AND RUN TO FIT DEVELOPMENTAL TIME FRAMES. E.G MDGS, VISION 2020, GPRS GSGDA ETC. URGENT NEED FOR THE DEV’T OF HUMAN CAPITAL IN THE FIELD OF CLIMATE CHANGE STUDIES AND CLIMATE MODELLING IN AFRICA. EFFECTIVE DATA SHARING NEEDED FOR THIS TO SUCCEED. NEED FOR CROSS-SECTORAL APPROACH TO CLIMATE CHANGE, DISASTER RISK REDUCTION, ADAPTATION AND INTEGRATED WATER RESOURCES MGT.E.G, EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS, THE VOLTA BASIN AUTHORITY, THE AAP, PARCC ETC CRITICAL EDUCATIONAL DRIVE TO REDUCE ACTIVITIES WHICH IMPINGE NEGATIVELY ON CLIMATE AND WATER RESOURCES; MINING, SAND WINNING,DEFORESTATION, LAND USE ETC. GENDER MAINSTREAMING IN CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES; CCA AND DRR. A SECOND LOOK AT THE EXPANDING CARBON-DRIVEN ECONOMIES WITH INCREASING GHG EMISSIONS; RENEWABLE ENERGY.CARBON MARKETS??? REFORESTATION, CARBON CAPTURE/STORAGE, GREEN POLICIES, EDUCATION, COMS &TECH,WATER HARVESTING, CARE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT, ETC. RECOMMENDATIONS

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