KIT and ICPAC Advance S2S Forecasting Skills in the Greater Horn of Africa

On October 17-18, 2025, the SPS Blue Nile project team from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) held its second workshop in collaboration with the IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC) in Nairobi, where 14 national long-range forecasters from the Greater Horn of Africa were trained on sub-seasonal to seasonal (S2S) forecasting using the Python-based PyCast S2S tool.

The workshop, co-financed by the Rüdiger Kurt Bode Foundation's Water Resources Prize 2021, took place just before ICPAC's annual Foundational Training. Participants explored advanced forecasting methods and data visualisation techniques. A key outcome was the agreement on monthly collaborative PyCast S2S forecasts, strengthening regional capacity for improved hydro-meteorological prediction and climate informed decision-making.