Floods, droughts, landslides… In Cameroon, climate disasters affect hundreds of thousands of people every year. To better protect citizens and anticipate these risks, the National Observatory on Climate Change (ONACC) has launched an innovative digital platform capable of alerting, safeguarding, and guiding decision-making, with 100% local expertise.
Droughts, floods, extreme temperatures, and rising sea levels: Cameroon faces major climate challenges. Between 2019 and 2024, more than 311,000 people were affected by climate-related disasters. These events caused 121 deaths and destroyed nearly 50,000 hectares of crops, further worsening socio-economic vulnerabilities, according to the National Observatory on Climate Change. To better anticipate these hazards and reduce their impact, the Observatory launched a digital climate risk monitoring platform on January 14, 2026, aimed at strengthening early warning systems, protecting populations, and minimizing economic losses.
So this platform that the National Observatory on Climate Change has put in place is a tool for disaster reduction and management. So in line with the National Observatory on Climate Change’s missions to evaluate the socio-economic and development impacts of climate change in Cameroon, the National Observatory has brought up this tool, which is a novelty in the domain of disaster risk reduction and management. So it falls squarely with national strategy on disaster risk reduction.
OBENEBANGHA BATE MBI, Research Officer, ONACC – Cameroon
Locally developed, ONACC’s new climate platform is part of Cameroon’s modernization of climate governance, aligned with Africa’s resilience priorities, in a country where climate-related disasters cost nearly 250 billion CFA francs per year, or about 0.5% of GDP. The platform relies on multi-source data, including meteorological observations, satellite imagery, and field information, which are transformed into operational indicators to support decision-making. The tool operates across four key areas: early warning, investment planning, crisis management, and scientific data reliability. Its major innovation lies in the integration of artificial intelligence, under human supervision, to ensure the credibility and traceability of information.
It’s important to highlight that one of the principal features of this platform is the integration of artificial intelligence, which works through two different memory systems, that is the neurone and the long short-term memory, that is the LSTM.
OBENEBANGHA BATE MBI, Research Officer, ONACC – Cameroon
Beyond technology, the project highlights Cameroonian and African scientific expertise. Researchers, notably from the National Advanced School of Engineering (École Nationale Supérieure Polytechnique) in Yaounde, contributed to adapting climate models to local realities. Simulations conducted in Douala and Maroua tested the early warning system, while nearly 48% of Douala remains exposed to flood risks. Accessible via the ONACC website, the platform aims to become a shared tool for policymakers, local authorities, and citizens, thereby strengthening Cameroon’s resilience to climate disruptions.
