WISER EWSA King-Size Testbed Report

This report outlines the activities and outcomes of the Weather and Climate Information Services Early Warning for Southern Africa (WISER-EWSA) King-Size testbed. This second WISER EWSA testbed ran from October 1st, 2024 to April 30th, 2025, covering the Southern Africa rainy season in its entirety. It was the world’s first extended forecasting and nowcasting testbed, integrating daily operational activities with deep, sustained community engagement. The King-Size testbed enabled the project team and partner national meteorological and hydrological services (NMHS) -INAM, SAWS and ZMD- to better understand the operational capacity required to sustain long-term nowcasting, generating lessons that will influence future operationalisation. This initiative was also a major undertaking that involved 42 forecasters, 122 community observers and directly benefitted 795 people (381 women and 414 men), across Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa.