By Abdullahi Lukman
The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has inaugurated an Artificial Intelligence (AI) research and integration team to enhance weather forecasting and modernise meteorological services in the country.
The Director-General of NiMet, Prof. Charles Anosike, announced the development in Abuja on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, describing it as part of the agency’s broader drive to strengthen innovation, digital transformation and service delivery.
Anosike said the initiative would complement NiMet’s long-standing physics-based forecasting methods with emerging AI-driven approaches, in line with the Federal Government’s digital transformation agenda.
He explained that the newly constituted technical team would identify opportunities, standards and best practices for applying AI in meteorology, while integrating AI-based tools into NiMet’s operational forecasting systems to improve the speed, accuracy and accessibility of weather predictions.
According to the director-general, building internal AI capacity is essential to sustaining NiMet’s leadership in technological innovation and ensuring the responsible deployment of emerging technologies to support aviation safety, agriculture, disaster risk reduction and national development.
Members of the AI research and integration team were drawn from different units of the agency, reflecting a multidisciplinary approach to innovation.
He added that the inauguration marks another milestone in NiMet’s efforts to leverage digital technologies and research-driven solutions to deliver world-class meteorological services in Nigeria.
