The WMO, in partnership with the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), is supporting Uganda’s Department of Meteorological Services (DMS) in upgrading its operational warning systems to enhance its capacity to deliver timely and effective severe weather warnings.
In June 2025, FMI experts visited Uganda to initiate the implementation of the SmartMet Alert system, which is designed to strengthen warning services.
The system automates the generation of weather warnings, improving timeliness and accuracy, with the integration of the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP), a global standard that enables dissemination across multiple channels such as radio, television and mobile platforms.
It is partly open source, and license free, making it adaptable and cost-effective.
Ahead of deployment, DMS and FMI jointly developed a customized warning framework to ensure that the system responds effectively to Uganda’s specific climate and administrative context.
The June visit was organized on the sidelines of the Eastern Africa Severe Weather Forecasting Programme (SWFP) regional workshop, held in Entebbe from May 27 to June 6, 2025. The workshop provided opportunities for knowledge exchange with neighboring countries and national stakeholders.
The SmartMet Alert system will now be configured and localized in line with Uganda’s warning definitions. Installation and staff training are planned for early 2026.
Once operational, it is hoped that Uganda will not only enhance its early warning capacity but also join the global community of CAP users, ensuring a broader reach and impact of its alerts to safeguard lives and livelihoods.
In related news, the WMO’s early warnings and extreme heat missions were discussed at 80th UN General Assembly