A one-day Pacific climate-services workshop was under way in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, on 19 October, bringing together directors and climate officers from national meteorological and hydrological services alongside technical partners. The meeting is focused on assessing the capabilities already available across the region and identifying priorities under the Pacific Roadmap for Strengthened Climate Services 2024–2033.
The workshop’s stated task is not simply to catalogue forecasts or climate datasets. Participants are considering how Pacific countries can provide climate services that are consistent, effective and focused on the people who use them by 2033. That includes reviewing progress so far, identifying gaps and considering what national services will need in order to produce, deliver and apply useful information.
The discussion covers capabilities at both national and regional level. It is expected to examine the products and services that Pacific meteorological and hydrological services already provide, where those services are strong and where further attention may be needed. The process is also intended to recognise that countries do not start from identical positions: their priorities, resources and needs differ, so the approaches used to strengthen services may also need to differ.
Participants are considering how the work can align with the World Meteorological Organization’s Global Framework for Climate Services and with the regional roadmap. The 2024–2033 roadmap follows an earlier 2017–2026 version that set out actions linked to climate-services priorities in Pacific island states and territories. Its current framework is intended to provide a shared basis for improving the production, delivery and use of climate information across the region.
Several regional programmes are part of the workshop’s review. These include the Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific, ClimSA, the Republic of Korea-Pacific Islands Climate Prediction Services programme and CIS-Pac 5. The participants are due to consider the capabilities these programmes have helped develop, which services or activities need to be sustained, and the gaps that may require additional support. No final decisions or results from those discussions were reported when the workshop was under way.
A monitoring and evaluation framework is also being introduced. It includes 17 strategic performance indicators, three monitoring data streams and an annual reporting template for Pacific national meteorological and hydrological services. The tools are intended to make progress against the roadmap more structured and visible, showing how climate services are developing and where further attention or investment may be necessary.
Laitia Fifita, chair of the Pacific Meteorological Council and president of the World Meteorological Organization’s Regional Area V, described the roadmap as a shared regional framework. He said climate services should help people make better decisions, including farmers deciding when to plant, fishers monitoring ocean conditions, disaster-management agencies preparing for severe weather and governments planning for the longer term. He also stressed that stronger services require coordination, partnerships, human capacity and meaningful engagement with users, not technical systems alone.
The workshop takes place as Pacific countries confront climate variability, extreme weather, ocean warming and sea-level rise. Its organisers say stronger services are important for protecting lives and livelihoods, supporting food and water security, safeguarding infrastructure and building resilience. The meeting is intended to feed into further regional discussion at the 19th Pacific Islands Climate and Oceans Forum, scheduled for the following Tuesday and Wednesday.
