Twenty-three UN member states under the auspices of Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) are exploring strategies, tools and means of acquiring accurate data for space weather monitoring, forecasting.
They sought to achieve this on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, during a five-day UNOOSA and Nigeria workshop on International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI) being organised by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) in Abuja.
Space weather refers to the environmental conditions in space, particularly the effects of solar activity on Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field.
The participating countries included France, Germany, Japan, Cote’ Ivoire, South Africa, Brazil, India, Indonesia and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The workshop focused on Space Weather during a Moderate Solar Cycle 25.
Space weather, during a moderate solar cycle, signifies a period of relatively low, though not minimal, solar activities.
It could lead to geomagnetic storms that cause visible phenomena and disrupt activities such as aviation communication, power grid and Global Positioning System (GPS) disruptions.
Ms. Sharafat Gadimova, UNOOSA, Austria, said developing capabilities in space weather was one of many space activities UNOOSA supported members states to achieve.
Gadimova said the international community would explore strategies to improve the collection, exchange in delivering space weather data modelling and forecasting methods to enhance accuracy and reliability.
“This community will also work to design a platform to identify user requirement and promote synergy between different communities addressing space weather impact.
“These activities will support capacity building, training, initiatives and providing data information on cutting-edge, up-to-date space weather research,’’ she said.
Chief Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, said space weather was a global phenomenon which required a collective international action because of its impact on orbit infrastructure.
Represented by Dr Matthew Adepoju, Director-General, NASRDA, Nnaji also drew the attention of global partners to the need for addressing extreme weather conditions such as hurricane.
“This is an opportunity for scientists and global policy makers to shift attention to the root cause of most of the hurricane that takes its origin from Sahara Desert in Africa.
“We need to join hands for programmes such as Great Green Wall to become a successful initiative and address the causes of these disasters related to extreme weather condition,’’ he said.
The minister pledged that Nigeria would be committed to spearheading activities aimed at boosting weather conditions in Africa.
Adepoju, in his capacity as NASRDA D-G, said that developing countries, particularly those in Africa, should take climate impacts seriously and develop tools to address them.
“For developing nations such as Nigeria, and indeed the entire African continent which is advancing rapidly in digital transformation, our vulnerability to this phenomenon is growing.
“Our dependence on satellite technology for banking, telecommunication, broadcasting, weather forecasting and national security makes the understanding and prediction of space weather not simply a scientific theory,’’ Adepoju said.
By Ijeoma Olorunfemi