Oluwatobi Adu 
Director General and Chief Executive Officer of NiMet, Prof Charles Anosike , and ANTICIPA Project Manager, Pridon Japaridze
SOKOTO, Nigeria – The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) is piloting an artificial intelligence-powered WhatsApp chatbot in Sokoto State to deliver weather forecasts and early warning messages to Hausa-speaking communities.
NiMet and 3IS signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Thursday to strengthen collaboration on the ANTICIPA project, which uses meteorological information and digital technology to turn weather forecasts into practical advisories for communities.
The pilot uses NiMet forecasts and a decision-tree system to generate advisories that are delivered to users through WhatsApp as text or voice messages.
Hausa is currently available for the Sokoto pilot, allowing communities to receive weather information in a language widely used in the state.
ANTICIPA Project Manager Pridon Japaridze said 3IS uses NiMet information and technology to generate knowledge designed to help communities strengthen their resilience and respond to changing weather conditions.
The initiative is intended to improve the last-mile delivery of climate information, particularly for communities that may not readily access conventional weather forecasting platforms.
NiMet Director-General and Chief Executive Officer, Prof Charles Anosike, said emerging technologies could play an important role in delivering climate information to communities under the Early Warnings for All initiative. He said the project could eventually be expanded to other parts of Nigeria, while NiMet’s artificial intelligence team would work with 3IS on further research and development.
According to NiMet, the MoU is expected to provide a framework for cooperation between the two organisations as the ANTICIPA project is implemented in Nigeria.
The Sokoto pilot represents an effort to make weather and early-warning information more accessible by combining existing meteorological forecasts with AI-assisted translation and digital communication.
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Korede Abdullah 
