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
- F. U. Salifu, O. A. Oladipo, E. O. Ebock, B. Nava, Deep neural network model for vertical total electron content prediction at a single low latitude station , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 4, November 2025
- Philemon Uten Emmoh, Christopher Ifeanyi Eke, Timothy Moses, A feature selection and scoring scheme for dimensionality reduction in a machine learning task , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 1, February 2025
- Christian N. Nwaeme, Adewale F. Lukman, Robust hybrid algorithms for regularization and variable selection in QSAR studies , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 5, Issue 4, November 2023
- Lek Ming Lim, Yang Lu, Ahmad Sufril Azlan Mohamed, Majid Khan Majahar Ali, Data safety prediction using YOLOv7+G3HN for traffic roads , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 6, Issue 3, August 2024
- A. Y. Fasasi, E. Ajenifuja, E. Osagie, L. O. Animasaun, A. E. Adeoye, E. I. Obiajunwa, Optical, Dielectric and Optoelectronic Properties of Spray Deposited Cu-doped Fe2O3 Thin Films , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 5, Issue 3, August 2023
- Raphael Ozighor Enihe, Rajesh Prasad, Francisca Nonyelum Ogwueleka, Fatimah Binta Abdullahi, The effect of imbalance data mitigation techniques on cardiovascular disease prediction , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 2, May 2025
- Nahid Salma, Majid Khan Majahar Ali, Raja Aqib Shamim, Machine learning-based feature selection for ultra-high-dimensional survival data: a computational approach , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 3, August 2025
- L. G. Salaudeen, D. GABI, M. Garba, H. U. Suru, Deep convolutional neural network based synthetic minority over sampling technique: a forfending model for fraudulent credit card transactions in financial institution , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 6, Issue 2, May 2024
- David Opeoluwa Oyewola, Emmanuel Gbenga Dada, Juliana Ngozi ndunagu, Terrang Abubakar Umar, Akinwunmi S.A, COVID-19 Risk Factors, Economic Factors, and Epidemiological Factors nexus on Economic Impact: Machine Learning and Structural Equation Modelling Approaches , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 3, Issue 4, November 2021
- O. E. Ojo, A. Gelbukh, H. Calvo, O. O. Adebanji, Performance Study of N-grams in the Analysis of Sentiments , 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

