DAR ES SALAAM, March 23 (Xinhua) -- Tanzania has made enormous initiatives to enhance provision of early warning services in the country geared towards reduction of weather and climate related disasters, a senior official said on Wednesday.

       Makame Mbarawa, the Minister for Works and Transport, said such initiatives include strengthening of the provision of weather and climate early warning services through the Tanzania Meteorological Authority (TMA).

       He said weather forecasts and services provided by TMA have greatly improved in terms of quality and accuracy where in the recent seasons the accuracy of weather forecasts is between 93 percent and 96 percent.

       Mbarawa said this accuracy is higher compared to the minimum threshold of 70 percent accuracy recommended by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

       He made the remarks in a statement to mark the World Meteorological Day whose theme is Early Warning and Early Action.

       "The choice of this theme seeks to put emphasis on enhancing effort to reduce impacts of disasters caused by weather and climate related hazards," he said.

       Mbarawa said in recent years, the productivity of socio-economic climate sensitive sectors has been affected and increasingly vulnerable to the risks posed by climate variability and change.

       "Responding to these challenges implies taking effective steps to minimize risks to the disasters," he said, adding that they include preventing new and reducing existing risks as well as managing residual risks.