A new partnership will launch 5000 new weather stations across Africa to help collect meteorological information on the continent.  This information can then be used to predict and manage the impacts of climate change.

“Weather Info for All” is a partnership between the UN’s World Meteorological Organization, Columbia University’s Earth Institute, and telecommunicatons companies Sony Ericsson and Zain.  The plan is to build 5000 weather stations on top of existing mobile telephone satellite units across Africa.

This project appears to be enhanced by the relative capabilities and goals of its partners. Public-private partnerships such as these are useful ways for building and sharing knowledge as well as helping farmers plan and protect their harvests better.