Michael Baidu

Research

My research in Africa focuses on addressing the challenges of tropical weather forecasting by improving our understanding of tropical convective storms and their representation in numerical weather prediction models.

My work also involves the provision of useful tools for improving early warning for forecasters across the continent.

This includes capacity building through training students in various universities in Africa to be equipped with the knowledge and skills for the sustainability of the forecasting tools being developed. Thus, raising the next generation of African scientists.

GCRF Africa SWIFT

My PhD work focused on improving our understanding of mesoscale convective systems and the assessment of how well the Met Office’s 4.4km Tropical Africa Model simulates these systems.

This work was sponsored through the GCRF Africa SWIFT (Science for Weather Information and Forecasting Techniques) project which was a five-year project that involved a collaboration between UK institutions such as the University of Leeds, University of Reading, the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and African Universities and the Meteorological Centres from Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Kenya and Niger.

Current projects

I am currently involved in two projects over the continent.

‘Developing capacity for storm and lighting early warning for the energy sector in Ghana (EW4Energy)' aims to train local scientists to develop and install lightning sensors over Ghana in order to provide early warnings of lighting and storms for the Energy sector in Ghana.

‘Advancing Nowcasting with Deep Learning (ANDeL) over Africa' aims to improve nowcasting (forecasting at a short timescale) through machine learning models.