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LESOTHO METEOROLOGICAL SERVICES
We are at your Service/Re Sebelise
Lesotho Presentation:
“Training workshop on the Assessment of Social and
economic benefits for Meteorological and
Hydrological Services for Members of the Southern
African Development community (SADC)”
by
Retsepile Neko (Meteorologist,
Weather Forecasting Division) and
Khotso Makuoe
(Weather Presenter,
Public Weather Services)
Map and location
•
About Lesotho
• Population is 1,942,008
• Estimates for this country explicitly take into
account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS;
this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant
mortality, higher death rates, lower population
growth rates, and changes in the distribution of
population by age and sex than would otherwise be
expected (July 2014 est.)
• Latest annual GDP (USD) of $2.458 billion (2014
est.)
About Lesotho
Composition of GDP;
• Agriculture: 7.5%
• Industry: 35.7%
• Services: 56.9%
Main industries;
• Agricultural- products: corn, wheat, pulses,
sorghum, barley; livestock
• food, beverages, textiles, handicrafts, construction,
tourism
About Lesotho
• Climate: temperate; cool to cold, dry winters; hot,
wet summers
• Terrain: mostly highland with plateaus, hills, and
mountains
• Weather-related hazards: periodic droughts, heavy
rains, snow, tornadoes, strong winds,
thunderstorms.
Lesotho Met Services
Vision
• To be a center of Excellency that provides accurate,
reliable and timely weather and climate services for
sustainable socio economic development by the year
2020.
Objective
• The main objective of LMS is to apply and integrate the
science of meteorology with social and economic
activities, particularly in poverty reduction, employment
creation, protection of atmospheric environment and
promotion of measures to adapt to climate change.
Lesotho Met Services
• LMS is the Government arm on weather, climate and the
atmospheric environment responsible for:
• Provision of Meteorological Services: Weather and climate
affects every facet of life. Provision of timely and accurate
meteorological services strives to harmonize human activities
particularly developmental and social with weather and climate.
• Coordination of National Efforts in Climate Change Adaptation
and Mitigation: LMS develops and implements national multisectoral strategies to adapt and to mitigate emerging climate
changes.
• Protection of the Atmospheric Environment over the Territory of
Lesotho: LMS monitors the state of the atmospheric
environment and the use of ozone depleting substances and
implements national programme for their phase out.
Lesotho Met Services
Number of staff;
• LMS operates with a staff complement of 65
permanent staff, 92 Volunteers (Meteorological
Observers) and 19 Casual Labourers.
Annual budget;
• Recurrent budget for 2015/2016 is M8, 483 377
• The budget for 2014/2015 was M8,120 270
• The budget for 2013/2014 was M6,761 067
Activities
• Nowcasting medium and long range forecasts, weekly
weather briefs
• Agromet bulletins (Dekadal)
• Monthly weather summaries
• Aviation services
• Climate Services
Users
Ministry of Agriculture, Disaster Management
Authority, Forestry and Land reclamation, Tourism,
Water Affairs, Construction, WFP, UNDP, Red Cross,
Lesotho Highlands Water Project, Tertiary Institutions,
Media
Lesotho Met Services
The estimated costs of Met services, broken down;
Budget Category
Amount
Salaries and Wages
M4, 864 416.00
Transport
M607 222.00
Operating Costs
M 2 167 293.00
Lesotho Met Services
• One sector where LMS makes a significant
contribution to societal or economic benefits;
Weather forecasting
• One sector where LMS is weak; Information
dissemination networks in relation to climate
change.
Products and services
Products and services which we need funding;
• Numerical weather prediction; Equipment and
training
• Provide regular weather reports; these will need
more aws to be installed
• Main funding sources for operations and capital
equipment;
 Government
Support from international donors
Challenges
• High staff turn over
• Vandalism of observation equipment especially in remote
areas
• Old and dilapidated equipment. Most of the equipment has
overrun its life durability and needs replacement.
• Skewed observation network. Most of the stations are in the
Lowlands due to the terrain of the country. The number and
spatial distribution of stations is not sufficient to undertake a
comprehensive weather and climate analysis as a result micro
climates are not easily detected and categorized.
• Low technical capacity. There are few professionally trained
staff personnel.
• Budgetary constraints
• Limited transport facilities
Thank You
Kea Leboha