Our client, a technical regional office is heading for the development of a basin-wide Drought Early Warning System (DEWS) for the Nile Basin. The motive of this project is to create a real-time drought monitoring and forecasting system to help drought preparedness and response across basin countries. Technical development and implementation of this system is led by RMSI to support the long-term water security and climate resilience goals.
Recurring droughts cause a severe threat to the livelihoods, agriculture, and water resources in the Nile Basin. The absence of an integrated, effective drought early warning mechanism has historically hindered timely response and mitigation. A system was required that could efficiently monitor several types of droughts forecast conditions and deliver useful insights to key stakeholders across countries.
RMSI introduced the Nile DEWS, an inclusive web-GIS-based early warning platform. The system integrates agricultural, hydrological, and meteorological data to produce timely and spatially detailed forecasts using indicators such as SPI, SPEI, NDVI, LST, soil moisture, evapotranspiration anomalies, and the Composite Drought Indicator (CDI).
Key components included:
To ensure the system’s relevance and accessibility, RMSI installed the DEWS, making it compatible with the NBI Integrated Knowledge Portal. Additionally, a regional network of drought reporters was established to validate forecasting outputs and enrich local insights.
With the help of Nile DEWS tool across the basin, informed decision making and early action is achievable. Institutional capacity has also enhanced considerably with focused training for technical staff, civil society groups, and NBI focal points. The system’s ability to produce precise and packaged drought information and support collaborative risk management leads to climate resilience in the region.
