NiMet chief executive Professor Mansur Matazu gave his opinion
on Friday in Abuja during a briefing to reporters.
According to him, activities accompanied by the onset of the
rainy season such as thunderstorms, wind shear, squall lines, microbursts and
flash floods can inundate runways, disrupt landing and take-off.
Matazu further said such activities could cause flight
delays and affect sensors along the runways.
“We want the pilots in particular to be very careful and to
respect our precautionary measures. They are there as a standard of operations
and precautions. You know that aviation is about safety.
“We use the pilot platform to get feedback and find out what
they’ve been through at certain levels of atmosphere. Airlines should also take
this precaution very seriously.
“Last but not the least, passengers should be patient with
airline operators, especially when there are delays, deviations or
cancellations of flights,” he said.
Matazu said the northern area is expected to have an
appearance between May and June, with the northern fringes around Sokoto,
Kebbi, Zamfara, Katsina, Jigawa, Yobe and Borno likely to have an appearance
between June 14 and June 29.
According to him, NiMet will monitor climate change and
provide the update for weather alerts and advance information for factory
purposes.
“In the event of extreme weather events, we promptly report
the damage, loss of life and property damage.
“So the north-central is approaching its period of onset and
some northern states will soon begin to witness the onset, sometimes showers
associated with thunderstorms and high winds,” he said. (NAN)