Building Community-Driven Weather Networks in Africa

The recent 48-hour internet shutdown in Afghanistan has raised significant concerns regarding the vulnerability of decentralized technologies, particularly blockchain. This blackout, which affected approximately 13 million people, revealed a critical weakness: the reliance of blockchain networks on centralized internet service providers. While blockchain is designed to facilitate secure and censorship-resistant transactions, the outage highlighted how interruptions in internet connectivity can severely impact its functionality. This situation underscores the urgent need for alternative internet infrastructure solutions that can support blockchain operations even when traditional providers are unavailable. On October 1, 2025, the Taliban administration ordered a near-total internet blackout, which was later attributed to technical issues with fiber optic cables. However, the timing and scale of the disruption raised alarms about potential censorship and government control over internet access. The event not only disconnected millions from the digital realm but also disrupted numerous blockchain activities, revealing a significant challenge for decentralized networks. The incident serves as a stark reminder that while blockchain technology holds the promise of censorship resistance, it remains vulnerable to external disruptions. In response to the Afghanistan blackout, advocates for decentralized connectivity are calling for solutions that ensure blockchain networks can operate independently of centralized internet providers. Projects like Roam Network are at the forefront of this movement, aiming to create decentralized wireless networks powered by user contributions. By leveraging crowdsourced data on mobile signal strength, Roam seeks to provide reliable internet access even during outages. Other initiatives, such as World Mobile and Helium, are also working to establish large-scale decentralized networks that reduce reliance on centralized infrastructure. The urgency of developing these solutions has never been clearer, as the potential of blockchain technology hinges on the availability of a decentralized internet backbone.

In a groundbreaking collaboration, the Berkeley Environmental Air Quality and CO₂ Network (BEACO2N) has partnered with WeatherXM to enhance urban emissions monitoring in the San Francisco Bay Area. Urban areas are significant contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet understanding their variability remains a challenge. BEACO2N has been at the forefront of providing dense, low-cost air quality monitoring, but the lack of high-resolution weather data has hindered the interpretation of emissions dispersion at the neighborhood level. This partnership aims to fill that gap, offering researchers and policymakers a clearer view of urban emissions, air quality, and environmental justice issues. The challenge lies in the absence of fine-grained meteorological data that complements BEACO2N's continuous monitoring of pollutants like CO₂, CO, O₃, and NOₓ. Conventional weather networks often overlook vulnerable neighborhoods, leading to a lack of crucial data for emissions inventories and public health alerts. In cities like San Francisco, where complex wind flows and microclimates interact with traffic and industrial zones, understanding pollution patterns without weather context is nearly impossible. WeatherXM addresses this issue by deploying a decentralized network of community-powered weather stations, providing real-time data on temperature, humidity, and wind conditions, which are essential for interpreting pollutant behavior. The integration of WeatherXM’s meteorological data with BEACO2N’s air quality monitoring creates a multidimensional perspective on urban emissions. This synergy allows researchers to analyze how pollutants accumulate or disperse due to various factors, including local heat islands and traffic patterns. The decentralized nature of WeatherXM also facilitates rapid data transmission, enabling public health officials to respond swiftly to transient pollution events, such as wildfire smoke. This collaboration not only enhances scientific understanding and public health responses but also empowers local governments and communities with actionable data, paving the way for smarter, more equitable urban planning and climate policies. As cities worldwide face climate and air quality challenges, this case study serves as a blueprint for integrating community-level meteorological and atmospheric data to foster resilience and justice in urban environments.

In a recent analysis by Phoenix Group and LunarCrush, Chainlink (LINK) has emerged as the leader in social engagement among decentralized physical infrastructure network (DePIN) projects. With a remarkable 15,200 engaged posts and 3.6 million interactions within a 24-hour period, Chainlink significantly outperformed its competitors, showcasing a vibrant community discussion around its protocol. This high level of engagement not only cements Chainlink's position at the top but also reflects the growing interest in decentralized infrastructure solutions. Following Chainlink, Bittensor (TAO) secured the second position with 9,700 posts and 876,800 interactions, indicating strong community momentum despite being far behind Chainlink. The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) rounded out the top three with 4,200 posts and 300,600 interactions, demonstrating steady traction among its user base. Other notable projects like Arthera (ATH), which recorded 3,000 posts and 475,700 interactions, also showed significant community response, highlighting the diverse engagement levels across the DePIN landscape. The rankings also featured smaller projects such as Grass and Dione, which, despite lower posting activity, managed to attract considerable interactions, indicating a growing interest in emerging networks. The data underscores a trend where social metrics are becoming essential indicators of project momentum, as they reflect how well these projects resonate with their communities. As the DePIN sector continues to evolve, the increasing engagement from both established and emerging tokens suggests a vibrant future for decentralized infrastructure initiatives.

In a significant advancement for weather monitoring and disaster preparedness, WeatherXM, a decentralized weather network, has partnered with DePIN South Africa to deploy 320 hyperlocal weather stations across various regions in South Africa within just 90 days. This initiative aims to provide municipalities, utilities, and businesses with accurate, audited street-level weather observations, transforming unpredictable weather patterns into actionable data. The deployment is particularly crucial given South Africa's climate challenges, which include flash floods, heatwaves, and droughts that strain essential services and infrastructure. The WeatherXM and DePIN SA collaboration focuses on integrating weather stations into a grassroots network that spans rooftops, masts, and community locations, especially in flood-prone and agricultural areas. Local teams conducted thorough assessments to ensure optimal placement and functionality of the stations, which utilize WeatherXM’s Proof-of-Quality method for calibration and telemetry. Once operational, the data collected is routed to WeatherXM’s APIs and Pro dashboards, allowing real-time monitoring by municipal teams, logistics operators, and insurers to enhance their operational readiness and response strategies. As the network transitions to daily use, the impact of these hyperlocal observations is already evident. Public sector teams are leveraging local rainfall and heat data to improve planning and coordination for flood and heat events. Energy and utility operators are using the information to anticipate outages and maintain grid stability, while insurers are incorporating these observations into parametric triggers, streamlining claims processes. This innovative approach underscores the importance of ground-truth data in decision-making, with WeatherXM's CEO emphasizing the need for rapid rollouts and measurable results to enhance resilience in the face of climate unpredictability.

In a remarkable collaboration, BLCK IoT and WeatherXM have successfully installed 130 hyperlocal weather stations across rural and peri-urban Kenya within just 45 days. This initiative has led to significant improvements in agricultural productivity, with farm yields increasing by 18% and water usage reduced by 22%. Additionally, the enhanced data collection has improved flood modeling accuracy by over 30%. The deployment of these weather stations provides crucial local observations that empower farmers, insurers, researchers, and local governments to make informed decisions regarding crop planting, insurance claims, and flood preparedness. The need for reliable weather data in Kenya has become increasingly critical due to the unpredictable nature of seasonal rains, which has made agricultural planning more challenging. Droughts and flash floods have become more common, leading to potential losses for smallholder farmers who may misjudge the timing for planting or watering their crops. The partnership between BLCK IoT and WeatherXM aims to fill these gaps by placing audited sensors in key areas, ensuring that farmers and local authorities have access to accurate and timely weather information. The deployment process was divided into three phases, starting with site preparation and connectivity audits, followed by the installation of the weather stations, and concluding with training sessions for local stakeholders on how to utilize the data effectively. With the new infrastructure in place, farmers can now access real-time weather data, enabling them to optimize their agricultural practices. This project not only enhances food security but also serves as a model for future initiatives that leverage technology to address local challenges in agriculture and disaster management.

WeatherXM has recently upgraded its Quality of Data (QoD) algorithm to enhance the accuracy of community-powered weather data. This upgrade, implemented on September 9, 2025, introduces the Indoor Station Detection (ISD) feature, which allows for better identification of poorly deployed weather stations. Previously, stations could achieve high QoD scores simply by transmitting data, regardless of its accuracy. With the new ISD, stations placed indoors or in obstructed areas are now more likely to receive lower scores, motivating owners to adhere to best deployment practices for optimal performance. The impact of the ISD is already evident, as many stations that previously boasted high QoD scores are now rated below 0.3. For instance, the Jolly Kobe Gust station in Portugal, once receiving scores between 40% and 79%, would now score 0% due to its poor deployment conditions. The algorithm checks various factors such as solar radiation, temperature, humidity, and wind speed to determine the validity of the data being reported. Stations that exhibit unrealistic readings due to improper placement are flagged, ensuring that only reliable data contributes to the WeatherXM network. Proper deployment of weather stations is crucial for maximizing rewards and ensuring the data's reliability for sectors like agriculture and energy. WeatherXM encourages users to follow a deployment checklist that includes placing stations outdoors, avoiding obstructions, and regularly checking feedback through the mobile app. The goal of the new QoD algorithm is not to penalize users but to assist them in improving their setups, thereby enhancing the overall quality of the community-powered weather network. By aiming for perfect deployments, users can increase their rewards while contributing valuable data to the WeatherXM community.