Sudanese General Meteorological Authority
The Sudanese General Meteorological Authority is the official body responsible for monitoring weather and climate in Sudan and providing meteorological services, and it currently falls under the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources, according to its official website. The history of organised meteorological monitoring in the country extends back to 1890, when the first monitoring station was established in the city of Suakin on the Red Sea coast, then the Wadi Halfa station was opened in 1891, and the number of operating stations reached seven stations in 1900, then sixteen stations in 1920.
The Authority's official website states that it was founded in 1937, and that it began under the administration of Post and Telegraph. In 1956 Sudan became a full member of the World Meteorological Organization, and meteorology remained linked to Post and Telegraph until 1966, when a decision was issued by the Council of Ministers to establish the Authority as an independent body under the Ministry of Communications. In 1971 its affiliation moved to the Ministry of Defence and then to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, and in 1995 its conversion into a general authority was approved, with its powers and responsibilities defined, and it was linked to the Ministry of Aviation and Survey, and it moved after that between several ministries, reaching the Ministry of Irrigation and Water Resources.
The Authority is responsible for operating the national network of monitoring stations and issuing daily and seasonal bulletins and forecasts and warnings of severe weather phenomena, and providing standardised information serving the safety of air, maritime and land navigation, and supporting food security and environmental protection. A document submitted by the Authority to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change describes the Authority as the official source of public weather warnings and the main scientific reference for atmospheric information in Sudan. Its structure, according to its official website, consists of a board of directors and a director general and specialised directorates including climate information, planning, research, monitoring, forecasts, information systems, and engineering and financial affairs.
(Sources: Official website of the Sudanese General Meteorological Authority meteosudan.sd; the Authority's document submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change UNFCCC)
— Editorial Team
