Citizen Science Early Warning Tools for Weather and Climate Risk Awareness

The impacts of climate change and variability are being experienced globally, especially in climate-sensitive sectors such as water, agriculture, health, human settlements , and energy. In South Africa, the triple challenges of inequality, poverty , and unemployment further exacerbate the impacts of climate change, as a significant proportion of South African communities in both rural and urban areas have limited adaptive capacity to respond to frequent extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. Extreme weather events such as intense storms, heavy rain, extreme winds, heatwaves, and an increase in the number of hot days affect the livelihoods of the most vulnerable communities in both rural and urban areas. Therefore, to minimise impacts on these communities, it is essential to involve citizens and build their capacity to respond to the inherent impacts of weather and climate by providing simplified tools that can support citizen engagement in disaster risk reduction and management , including the dissemination of early warnings.