Building AI-powered Early Warning System for Extreme Weather Conditions in Tanzania

Developing an AI-driven early warning system using data from the Tanzania Meteorological Authority to predict extreme weather conditions in Tanzania, enhancing disaster preparedness and response, thereby aiding local governments and communities in strategic disaster management and mitigation planning. In this 8-week challenge, you will join a collaborative team of 50 AI engineers from all around the world.

The problem

Tanzania, like many regions globally, is increasingly experiencing the impacts of climate change, manifesting in more frequent and severe weather extremes such as floods, heatwaves, and heavy rains. These extreme weather conditions pose significant risks to the population, including threats to life, property, and livelihoods, particularly in agriculture, which relies heavily on predictable weather patterns.

Impact of the Problem:

• Human Safety and Fatalities: Extreme weather events often lead to significant loss of life. Without adequate early warning systems, populations in vulnerable areas are less prepared and more susceptible to the catastrophic impacts of sudden floods and heatwaves.
• Economic Losses: The economic impact of extreme weather is profound, affecting businesses, agriculture, and infrastructure. Floods and storms can destroy property and crops, leading to financial strain and long-term economic challenges for affected communities.
• Displacement: Severe weather events can displace thousands of people, forcing them from their homes and leading to temporary or permanent relocation. This displacement not only causes immediate hardship but also long-term social and economic disruptions.
• Resource Strain on Emergency Services: Inadequate early warnings strain emergency response efforts. Rescue operations often become reactive rather than proactive, leading to inefficient resource deployment and potentially higher casualties and damage.
• Information Accessibility: There is currently a significant gap in the timely dissemination of weather-related information. The existing systems may not effectively reach all individuals, especially in remote areas, leaving them uninformed and unprepared for imminent weather threats.

This project aims to build a 24-hour AI-powered precision early warning system designed to predict and provide timely alerts for extreme weather conditions in Tanzania. This system will leverage data from the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) along with historical weather data to enhance predictive accuracy. By delivering tailored and precise alerts directly to individuals via SMS, the system aims to improve preparedness and response to weather-related disasters. This enhanced capability will significantly contribute to safeguarding lives and property by ensuring that all segments of society, including individual citizens, local governments, rescue organizations, and those in agriculture-dependent industries like farming and fishing, receive critical weather alerts in a timely manner, enabling them to take necessary precautions and actions.

The goals

The ultimate objective of this project is to build a 24-hour AI-powered precision early warning system for extreme weather conditions in Tanzania. This initiative aims to harness data from the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA) and historical weather datasets to develop a sophisticated model capable of predicting floods, heavy rains, and heat waves with high accuracy. The project will unfold over several key phases, each meticulously planned to ensure the successful development and deployment of the early warning system:

• Data Collection and Preprocessing: The first phase involves collecting and preprocessing historical weather data from TMA and other relevant sources. This data will serve as the foundation for training the AI model, ensuring it has a robust dataset that reflects the diverse climatic conditions of Tanzania.
• Model Development: During this phase, AI algorithms will be developed and trained to predict extreme weather events. This involves not only the creation of predictive models but also their validation against historical weather events to ensure their accuracy and reliability in real-world conditions.
• API and Dashboard Development: Concurrently with model development, an API will be created to interface with the AI model, facilitating easy integration and data exchange. A dashboard will also be developed for visualization purposes, allowing users to monitor predictions and receive alerts in an accessible, user-friendly format.
• Testing and Validation: The AI model’s predictions will be rigorously tested and validated to ensure they meet high accuracy standards. This critical phase is essential for fine-tuning the model and ensuring that it can reliably provide early warnings.
• Deployment and Monitoring: Upon successful validation, the system will be deployed and integrated into existing meteorological monitoring frameworks in Tanzania. This phase will focus on providing real-time alerts to individuals and organizations via SMS, enhancing the preparedness and response capabilities of the entire nation.
• Project Success Criteria: Success will be measured by the system’s ability to deliver tailored and precise alerts with at least 85% accuracy, enhancing the preparedness for and response to weather-related disasters across Tanzania.

Thus, this project aims to deliver a transformative early warning system that significantly enhances the capability to manage and mitigate the impacts of extreme weather conditions in Tanzania. By providing real-time, accurate, and actionable weather alerts, this innovative approach promises substantial benefits in safeguarding lives, protecting property, and preparing communities for adverse weather events.

Why join? The uniqueness of Omdena AI Innovation Challenges

A collaborative experience you never had in your working life! For the next eight weeks, you will build AI solutions to make a real-world impact and go through an entire data science project lifecycle. This covers problem scoping, data collection, and preparation, as well as modeling for deployment.

And the best part is that you will join a global and collaborative team of changemakers. Omdena AI Challenges are not a competition or hackathon but a real-world project that will take your experience of what is possible through collaboration to a new level.

Find more information on how an Omdena project works