Improving climate data quality and analytical capabilities to address the unique climate challenges faced by our Pacific Islands is at the core of a workshop now underway.
Representatives of Pacific National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) in Nadi, Fiji with regional technical partners, for a week-long Climate Data Enhancement and Analysis Workshop.
The Pacific region is at the frontline of climate change impacts, with rising sea levels and extreme weather events, posing significant risks to the region’s economies, and communities. Accurate and high-quality climate data is vital for informing climate adaptation strategies and building resilience in these vulnerable small island nations.
“High quality climate data from observation stations is essential for understanding how climate change is affecting the Pacific but this data is increasingly declining in quality and quantity,” said Dr Simon McGree, Bureau of Meteorology, Australia.
“Through this workshop, we aim to improve the quality of climate data across the region and build the capacity to analyse it effectively. This will enable Pacific Island nations to make more informed decisions in their fight against climate change.”
The workshop is co-organised and co-funded by Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP) through the EU-funded Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA) project and the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia through the DFAT-funded and MFAT-funded Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac) project. The workshop is also supported by the University of New South Wales, Australia.
The Pacific region is highly vulnerable to climate change due to its geographic isolation and its small island nations bear the brunt of even small changes in temperature, sea level, or rainfall. Climate data from the Pacific is often limited, making it harder to track climate trends, predict future scenarios, and develop effective climate policies.
“Pacific island nations need access to the best available data to adapt to the ongoing climate crisis. This workshop will play a pivotal role in ensuring that the climate data we collect is reliable, consistent, and useful for guiding climate policy and decision-making,” said Mr Naheed Hussein, ClimSA Project Manager at SPREP.
“By enhancing the quality of climate data and improving our analysis techniques, we can help Pacific countries make more informed, effective decisions to protect their communities and economies.”
The workshop represents a collaborative effort to unite climate data specialists at NMHSs’, researchers and regional technical agencies across the Pacific region. By sharing knowledge and best practices, the event will help create a unified approach to addressing the climate data gaps and challenges in the region.
This training will result in enhanced capacity for NMHSs’ data specialists and climatologists to handle and analyse climate data independently, better climate data methodologies tailored to the unique needs of Pacific Island nations including advanced tools and strengthened regional collaboration to share data, tools, and knowledge across the Pacific Islands region.
As the workshop progresses, it is expected to provide new insights that will help our Pacific Islands strengthen their resilience to our changing climate. By improving climate data enhancement and analysis capabilities, the region will be better equipped to understand the full scope of climate risks and take proactive measures to protect their communities, resources, and future.
The Climate Extremes: Data Enhancement and Analysis Workshop is held in Nadi, Fiji from 17 – 21 March 2025. It is co-organised and co-funded by Secretariat of the Pacific Environment Programme (SPREP) through the EU-funded Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA) project and the Bureau of Meteorology in Australia through the DFAT-funded and MFAT-funded Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac) project. The workshop is also supported by the University of New South Wales, Australia.