Digitization of Historical Meteorological Data from Africa: Extending the Dieci e Lode Project

This study presents a recent project in which the Italian national agency for meteorology and climatology (Italia Meteo) and the Italian Association of Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology (AISAM) with the contribution of some research institutes and universities collaborate on climate data rescue activities. This initiative builds upon the Dieci e Lode project (https://aisam.eu/10-e-lode-en/), carried out during 2023–2025, which aimed to rescue and scan meteorological data collected in former Italian colonies and territories. Among the unrecovered materials, a particularly significant subset includes data from regions administered by Italy at various times between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including Eritrea, Somalia, Ethiopia, Libya, the Dodecanese Islands, Albania, Dalmatia, and Istria. The project involved an extensive search for meteorological records from these areas, covering the relevant historical periods. Under the framework of Copernicus programme, this new mission aims to organize and initiate the digitization of these historical colonial datasets. The first step involves reviewing approximately 40,000 scans produced within the previous project and identifying which documents are most relevant for digitization and which should be prioritized. Subsequently, the digitization process is implemented, involving both manual data entry through citizen scientists and students, and the application of AI/ML-based OCR techniques. In addition to the recovery of specific data series, the project is important for establishing a permanent framework for data rescue activities to complete the digitization of the vast amount of data.