World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has urged Nigeria to strengthen its resilience to the impacts of climate change.

The advice followed a warning by the World Economic Forum in its Global Risks Report that the current extreme weather poses a growing long-term threat.

Speaking at the commemoration of the 2026 World Meteorology Day, the representative of the WMO for North Central and the West African Regions, Dr Roland Abah, noted that extreme weather had been identified as the top long-term global risk in the latest report by the World Economic Forum, underscoring the scale of the challenge and the need to build more resilience.

It noted that Africa had recorded its warmest decade in the last 10 years, with increasing occurrences of extreme heat, intense rainfall, flooding, prolonged drought, and sand and dust storms.

He said: “These are not distant problems; they are today’s reality all over the globe, including in Nigeria.”

Highlighting the theme of this year’s celebration, “Observing Today, Protecting Tomorrow,” Dr Abba stressed that global observing and prediction systems remained critical to safeguarding lives and supporting economic activities.

He, however, called for increased investment in NIMET, adding that funding should not be left to the government alone. He also called on the private sector and development partners to support the agency, noting that they were key beneficiaries of climate services.

The WMO representative stressed the need for sustained investment in meteorological observations to enhance early warning systems and safeguard the future.

Meanwhile, the Director-General of NIMET, Prof. Charles Anosike, in his remarks, also harped on the need for increased private sector investment in climate and weather activities to strengthen meteorological observation systems and advance weather and climate services.

He, however, observed that private companies are increasingly investing in weather stations, remote sensing technologies, data analytics platforms, Artificial Intelligence (AI) weather models, and innovative observation tools that complement national meteorological networks across the world.

In his remarks, the Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NiMet, Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji, said: “The theme of the 2026 celebration, ‘Observing Today, Protecting Tomorrow,’ speaks directly to the agency’s core mandate.

“At NiMet, observation is not an abstract concept. It is our network of synoptic stations, agrometeorological stations, upper-air stations, marine observations, and more, that we operate daily, often under challenging conditions, to keep Nigeria informed and safe,” she said.