Deadline Date: April 15, 2026
The European Commission is inviting grant applications to strengthen weather and climate modelling in Africa to support more effective adaptation, disaster risk management, and capacity building.
The project focuses on improving the quality and performance of weather and climate models tailored to Africa’s needs, enhancing the provision of weather predictions and climate projections to enable communities to respond to climate impacts, and bolstering African climate research to reduce reliance on external expertise, increase representation in international climate bodies, and contribute to global climate initiatives. Africa faces high vulnerability to climate change due to limited adaptive capacity, and despite global advancements in climate science, many benefits remain underutilized on the continent. This initiative seeks to address knowledge gaps in weather and climate modelling specific to Africa, improving the understanding and representation of regional, interregional, and continental climate dynamics. It aims to enhance model predictive skill and reduce uncertainties in rainfall and extreme weather events by leveraging observational data to advance process-based understanding across land, ocean, and atmospheric systems. Improved data collection, assimilation, and quality assurance, as well as integration of local and rescued historical datasets, are central to providing high-quality model inputs. Digital technologies, including AI and machine learning, as well as high-performance computing, are encouraged to support these objectives.
Research efforts are expected to be conducted in close collaboration between African and European teams to ensure relevance, co-ownership, and acceptance of solutions by African stakeholders. Capacity building and knowledge exchange are essential to equip African researchers with the tools and expertise needed for sustainable progress. Strong partnerships with universities, research institutions, National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, and African Regional Climate Centers will facilitate mutual learning and collaboration.
The initiative also emphasizes synergies with other EU-supported programs in climate modelling and capacity development, such as Regional Centres of Excellence focused on the green transition. Facilitating access to European research infrastructures, including supercomputing resources and data repositories, will further strengthen institutional and regional climate expertise in Africa.
For more information, visit European Commission.
