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
- Mokhtar Ali, Abdelkerim Souahlia, Abdelhalim Rabehi, Mawloud Guermoui, Ali Teta, Imad Eddine Tibermacine, Abdelaziz Rabehi, Mohamed Benghanem , A robust deep learning approach for photovoltaic power forecasting based on feature selection and variational mode decomposition , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 3, August 2025
- Emmanuel Gbenga Dada, Aishatu Ibrahim Birma, Abdulkarim Abbas Gora, Ensemble machine learning algorithm for cost-effective and timely detection of diabetes in Maiduguri, Borno State , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 6, Issue 4, November 2024
- Osowomuabe Njama-Abang, Denis U. Ashishie, Paul T. Bukie, Addressing class imbalance in lassa fever epidemic data, using machine learning: a case study with SMOTE and random forest , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 3, August 2025
- P. O. Odion, M. N. Musa, S. U. Shuaibu, Age Prediction from Sclera Images using Deep Learning , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 4, Issue 3, August 2022
- Idongesit E. Eteng, Udeze L. Chinedu, Ayei E. Ibor, A stacked ensemble approach with resampling techniques for highly effective fraud detection in imbalanced datasets , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 1, February 2025
- Mahouton Justine Carine ADJASSA, Gabin KOTO N'GOBI, Hagninou Elagnon Venance DONNOU, Clément Adéyèmi KOUCHADE, Basile Bruno KOUNOUHEWA, Generation of Electricity From a Hydraulic Turbine in the Djonou River (Benin) , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 5, Issue 2, May 2023
- Umaru C. Obini, Chukwu Jeremiah, Sylvester A. Igwe, Development of a machine learning based fileless malware filter system for cyber-security , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 6, Issue 4, November 2024
- Constantin Falk, Tarek El Ghayed , Ron van de Sand, Jörg Reiff-Stephan, A Data-Driven Approach Towards the Application of Reinforcement Learning Based HVAC Control , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 5, Issue 1, February 2023
- Christopher Ifeanyi Eke, Kholoud Maswadi, Musa Phiri, Mulenga Mwege, Mohammad Imran, Dekera Kenneth Kwaghtyo, Akeremale Olusola Collins, Effective tweets classification for disaster crisis based on ensemble of classifiers , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 7, Issue 3, August 2025
- E. Omugbe, M. Abu-Shady, E. P. Inyang, Approximate bound state solutions of the fractional Schr\"{o}dinger equation under the spin-spin-dependent Cornell potential , Journal of the Nigerian Society of Physical Sciences: Volume 6, Issue 1, February 2024
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

