Somalia’s Upper House approved the meteorological agency bill at its third reading on October 17, with 27 senators voting in favour and none against or abstaining, Dawan reported. The Environment and Climate Change Ministry also announced the approval. The vote advances legislation establishing a national institution for weather and climate services.
The ministry had reported the Lower House’s earlier approval of the proposal. The latest decision is the Upper House’s legislative vote, adding another institutional step to a measure concerned with the organisation of national forecasting services.
Weather information has an immediate practical setting in a country where seasonal rain can interrupt travel and threaten settlements. PUNT NEWS’s account of the Deyr food-security outlook describes how flood exposure and access to assistance affect vulnerable households. The parliamentary development concerns the institution intended to support the country’s weather and climate information services.