Ghana still faces persistent challenges in climate data collection – EPA Boss
By: Solomon Nartey Tetteh
The Chief Executive Officer of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Professor Nana Ama Klutse, has indicated that the IPCC’s Interactive Climate Atlas has become a crucial resource for Ghana, inspiring national-level innovations and improving access to climate data for research and decision-making.
Speaking during a panel session at COP30, Professor Klutse revealed that the Ghana Meteorological Agency is developing a dedicated climate atlas for the country, motivated by the opportunities provided by the IPCC platform.
“The Interactive Atlas has provided motivation for the Ghana Meteorological Agency to come up with a climate atlas for Ghana. Every Ghanaian now has equal access to the same information the rest of the world uses for decision-making, scientific reports, publications and more,” she said.
Prof. Klutse noted that the atlas has been particularly beneficial because it allows users to zoom in from the global to African, West African and even Ghana-specific levels. The tool provides climate information across key variables such as rainfall, temperature, humidity, and both observations and projections.
She explained that while the atlas has helped bridge some information gaps, Ghana still faces persistent challenges in climate data collection due to limited weather observation stations.
“Ideally, we need meteorological stations recording observations every two kilometres but we don’t have that in Ghana. Our stations are spaced very widely, and this creates data gaps,” she said.
According to her, these gaps affect the accuracy of weather forecasts and long-term climate projections, making it more difficult for agencies to fully understand changing patterns and plan appropriately.
Prof. Klutse stressed the importance of continued investment in climate monitoring infrastructure to ensure that Ghana can improve data accuracy and strengthen resilience planning in the face of worsening climate impacts.
