First project review meeting held at the German Weather Service, Offenbach

Following the kick-off, data mining, and co-design workshops in Namibia and Botswana in October 2024, the consortium held a one-day face-to-face meeting at the Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC), hosted by the German Weather Service (DWD) in Offenbach on Tuesday, 25th February 2025, to review the progress across the different work packages (WPs). During the meeting, two new members were introduced: Ms. Tuuliki Kandjinga and Mr. Jonas Appenheimer. Jonas, a scientist based at DWD, will focus on developing the drought index, GPCC_DI (Global Precipitation Climatology Centre Drought Index), for the Notwane and Cuvelai-Cunene basins. Tuuliki joins as a PhD student and will apply the WEAP (Water Evaluation And Planning System) model in the Cuvelai-Cunene basin. Tuuliki is from Namibia, where she serves as a Senior Hydrometeorologist at the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, and Land Reform. She will be based at the International Centre for Water Resources and Global Change and the University of Bonn.

The meeting provided an opportunity for the group to meet and engage with colleagues from the GPCC, including Dr. Frank Kasper and Dr. Tanja Winterrath, the Head of Department Hydrometeorology at DWD and the Head of GPCC, respectively. Dr. Kasper discussed the role of the GPCC as an international data centre, highlighting the various products they offer and the challenges and opportunities associated with data collection, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa.

After the introductory sessions, the project PI, Prof. Andreas H. Fink, outlined the scope of the meeting, emphasizing the importance of clearly identifying the tasks for the next six months. From the presentations and discussions, several key points were agreed upon, including the continuation of data collection efforts. Additionally, important dates and events were confirmed, such as the project’s annual meeting, which is scheduled to take place in October 2025 in Oshakati, Namibia.