17th July 2014 Guinea is in the news with a lightning sensor weather warning system that shows great promise in helping African nations respond more quickly to floods, thus reducing their effect on life and property.
The system, created by Earth Networks is an African first and is already showing its value through lives saved and property protected so far. Even better, it costs a fraction of what traditional radar costs.
So how does this wonderful new system work? 12 stations, known as the ‘total lightning sensor network’, have been set up around Guinea to measure the pulses sent out by lightning. This information is now used to identify where the storm is located and where it is headed. To use resources even more effectively, the sensors were mounted on already existing mobile phone towers.
The results are recorded in real time, ensuring a quicker assessment and response time. It’s also awesome to note that this wonderful system can catch lightning radiation from neighbouring countries Senegal, Mali, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Mamadou Lamine Bah, director of the National Meteorological Society however believes that the work is only half done. He is quoted as saying “We now have the technology to be able to predict severe storms. The next big challenge is how do we get that information out quickly to the people that need it?”
We’re impressed with Guinea and look forward to seeing these systems deployed across the continent.