The recent State of Climate Report for Africa reveal that over the past 60 years, Africa has recorded a warming trend that has become more rapid than the global average. In 2023/2024, the Continent experienced heatwaves, heavy rains, extreme floods the Sahel, tropical cyclones, and prolonged droughts. While many Countries in the Horn of Africa continued to suffer from exceptional multi-year drought, others experienced extreme precipitation events leading to flooding with significant casualties. These extreme events had devastating impacts on communities, with serious economic implications.

The African Continent, with abundant diverse ecosystems, rich cultural heritage, and growing populations, faces disproportionate burdens and risks arising from climate change-related weather events and patterns. These events cause massive humanitarian crises with detrimental impacts on agriculture and food security, education, energy, infrastructure, peace and security, public health, water resources, and overall socioeconomic development across the continent.

Considering these challenges, and as part of the implementation of the Global Framework for Climate Services in Africa through the Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA) Programme, the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) and its partners are collaborating to coordinate, integrate and harmonize methods, tools and products to produce improved continental climate forecasts. More so, considering the recent climatic conditions observed during summer season from June to September 2024 in the Northern Hemisphere of Africa from Cape Verde to Djibouti, as well as the observed trends in Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) of Ocean Basins with rainfall activity in the Southern Hemisphere, ACMAD, in close collaboration with the designated WMO Regional Climates Centres (RCCs) and other Partners is organising the Eighteenth Africa Continental Climate Outlook Forum to contribute to mitigate the challenges of extreme weather events due to climatic variability and change in the Continent.

The main goal of the Forum is to review the recommendations of the ACCOF-17 and adopt an improved practical approach for the harmonization of forecasting methods and tools. In addition, the Consensus Continental Outlook statement for Africa will be generated and issued to raise awareness on the quality and derived benefits of an Integrated and Harmonized Climate Outlooks at Continental level for adaptation to climate change across African Regional Economic Communities (RECs).