Wind speed prediction in some major cities in Africa using Linear Regression and Random Forest algorithms
Keywords:
Energy Generation, Atmospheric Parameters, Statistical Models, Machine Learning Algorithms, African StationsAbstract
Globally, wind energy if properly harnessed, could serve as a source of energy generation in Africa. This study compared the performance of two Machine Learning (ML) algorithms (Linear regression and Random Forest) in predicting wind speed in five major cities in Africa (Yaoundé, Pretoria, Nairobi, Cairo and Abuja). Wind data were collected between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2022, using the Solar Radiation Data Archive. The data preprocessing was carried out with 80% of the data used for training and 20% for validation. The performance of these ML algorithms was evaluated using Mean Square Error (MSE), Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Mean Absolute Error (MAE), Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and coefficient of determination (R2). The result shows that Nairobi (3.814795 m/s) closely followed by Cairo (3.606453 m/s) has the highest mean wind speed while Yaoundé (1.090512 m/s) has the lowest. Based on the performance metrics used, the two Machine Learning algorithms were competitive. Still, the Linear Regression (LR) algorithm outperformed the Random Forest Algorithm in predicting wind speed in all the selected major African cities. In Yaoundé (RMSE = 0.3892, MAE= 0.3001, MAPE =0.5030), Pretoria (RMSE=1.2339, MAE=0.9480, MAPE=0.7450) Nairobi (RMSE= 0.4223, MAE =0.6499, MAPE =0.1872), Nairobi (RMSE=0.6499, MAE=0.5171, MAPE =0.1872), Cairo (RMSE =1.0909, MAE =0.8544, MAPE =0.3541) and Abuja (RMSE = 0.70245, MAE =0.5441, MAPE= 0.4515) the Linear regression algorithms was found to outperformed Random Forest Regression. Therefore, the Linear regression algorithm is more reliable in predicting wind speed compared with the Random Forest regression.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2024 Timothy Kayode Samson, Francis Olatunbosun Aweda

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
How to Cite
Similar Articles
- O. J. Ibidoja, F. P. Shan, Mukhtar, J. Sulaiman, M. K. M. Ali, Robust M-estimators and Machine Learning Algorithms for Improving the Predictive Accuracy of Seaweed Contaminated Big Data , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2023
- Gabriel James, Ime Umoren, Anietie Ekong, Saviour Inyang, Oscar Aloysius, Analysis of support vector machine and random forest models for classification of the impact of technostress in covid and post-covid era , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 6, Issue 3, August 2024
- S. I. Ele, U. R. Alo, H. F. Nweke, A. H. Okemiri, E. O. Uche-Nwachi, Deep convolutional neural network (DCNN)-based model for pneumonia detection using chest x-ray images , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 2, May 2025
- Gabriel James, Ifeoma Ohaeri, David Egete, John Odey, Samuel Oyong, Enefiok Etuk, Imeh Umoren, Ubong Etuk, Aloysius Akpanobong, Anietie Ekong, Saviour Inyang, Chikodili Orazulume, A fuzzy-optimized multi-level random forest (FOMRF) model for the classification of the impact of technostress , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 3, August 2025
- Gabriel James, Anietie Ekong, Etimbuk Abraham, Enobong Oduobuk, Peace Okafor, Analysis of support vector machine and random forest models for predicting the scalability of a broadband network , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 6, Issue 3, August 2024
- Omodele Olubi, Ebeneze Oniya, Taoreed Owolabi, Development of Predictive Model for Radon-222 Estimation in the Atmosphere using Stepwise Regression and Grid Search Based-Random Forest Regression , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 3, Issue 2, May 2021
- Silifat Adaramaja Abdulraheem, Salisu Aliyu, Fatima Binta Abdullahi, Hyper-parameter tuning for support vector machine using an improved cat swarm optimization algorithm , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 5, Issue 4, November 2023
- Unyime Ufok Ibekwe, Uche M. Mbanaso, Nwojo Agwu Nnanna, Umar Adam Ibrahim, A machine learning sentiment classification of factors that shape trust in smart contracts , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 1, February 2025
- A. K. Usman, Y. A. Hassan, A. A. Bery, A. S. Akingboye, M. D. Dick, B. M. Ahmed, R. O. Aderoju, Hybrid deep belief network and fuzzy clustering approach for geothermal prospectivity mapping in northeastern Nigeria using magnetic and landsat data , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 8, Issue 1, February 2026
- A. B Yusuf, R. M Dima, S. K Aina, Optimized Breast Cancer Classification using Feature Selection and Outliers Detection , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 3, Issue 4, November 2021
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
Most read articles by the same author(s)
- F. O. Aweda, J. A. Akinpelu, T. K. Samson, M. Sanni, B. S. Olatinwo, Modeling and Forecasting Selected Meteorological Parameters for the Environmental Awareness in Sub-Sahel West Africa Stations , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 4, Issue 3, August 2022

