The VOLTALARM Flood and Drought Bulletin is a collaborative early warning and risk communication tool developed under the Volta Flood and Drought Management (VFDM) Project. This initiative is jointly implemented by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Volta Basin Authority (VBA), and the Global Water Partnership West Africa (GWP-WA), with support from the Adaptation Fund. The bulletin provides a coordinated platform for issuing impact-based flood and drought warnings across the six riparian countries of the Volta Basin: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, and Togo. It integrates meteorological, hydrological, and agricultural data to assess hazards, exposure, and vulnerabilities thereby strengthening preparedness and response strategies at both national and regional levels. To inform decision-making, the bulletin employs key indices such as the Combined Drought Index (CDI), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), and Soil Moisture Index (SMI) to produce risk maps targeting both the population and agricultural sectors.

This bulletin is issued twice a week, Tuesday and Friday. It provides a level 1 (Regional) administrative unit scale overview of the population impact forecast for the next 5 days related to forecasted heavy rain and riverine flooding conditions.