World Meteorological Day: NIMET Committed to World Class Meteorology says Anuforom

The Director General Nigerian Meteorological Agency [NIMET], Dr Anthony Anuforom says the agency is committed to providing world class meteorological services in the country.
In a statement issued to mark the 2013 World Meteorological Day with its theme, “Watching the weather to protect life and property”. 
Dr Anuforom explained that In 2012 Nigeria experienced one of the worst weather-related disasters in which about 363 lives were lost, 5,871 people injured, 590,000 homes destroyed and 2.1 million displaced.
According to him, the sad memory of this large scale destruction of life and property by the floods will linger in our minds for some time.
The NIMET Boss said the experience from the 2012 flood disaster was a reminder that weather and climate have monumental impact on life as a whole. The experience was also a reminder on the need for all of us to pay closer attention to meteorological early warning information.
He said the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Aviation, has  been supporting NIMET to develop its operational capacity and to provide more accurate and timely services to Nigerian.
Dr Anuforom explained that statistics published by WMO revealed that over the last 30 years, natural disasters took the lives of over 2 million people and produced economic losses estimated at over 1.5 trillion US dollars while almost 90 percent of such disasters, more than 70 percent of the casualties and almost 80 percent of the economic losses were caused by weather-, climate- or water-related hazards such as tropical cyclones, storm surges, heat waves, droughts, floods or related disease epidemics.
The NIMET Boss explained that the purpose of World Meteorological Day was to create public awareness all over the world, of the services provided by WMO and National Meteorological & Hydrological Services (NMHSs) at global and national levels, respectively.
Dr Anuforom noted that these services were designed to protect life and property, and support socio-economic development. Which involved the observation, collection, processing and dissemination of meteorological, hydrological and other related data and products.
He declared that the early warning information provided by NIMET through its various products and services were now well known as itss range of products and services which include, Aeronautical Weather Forecasts, Marine Weather Forecasts, Daily Public Weather Forecasts, Periodic Weather Alerts, Seasonal Rainfall Prediction, Drought & Flood Monitoring, Agrometeorological Bulletins, among others were contributing to reducing the vulnerability of Nigerians to extreme weather and enhancing productivity in various sectors of the economy.

Dr Anuforom said It was the responsibility of all to reciprocate the good effort of Government through NIMET by paying attention to weather information and taking necessary precautions against extreme weather  and climate.