25 April 2025, Apia Samoa - The Pacific Islands Climate Outlook Forum (PICOF) must evolve, become more ambitious and continue to be guided by a vision that reflects the changing needs of the Pacific region.
This was the message from the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) during the opening of the Sixteenth Pacific Islands Climate Outlook Forum (PICOF-16) held virtually, on Wednesday .
Attended by more than 70 participants consisting of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) officials, members of the Pacific Regional Climate Centre (PI-RCC) Network, World Metrological Organisation (WMO), technical and regional partners, the meeting reviewed the climate and oceanic conditions in the western Pacific region from 1 November 2024 to 23 April 2025 and discussed long-term trends and projections for selected climate and ocean variables.
The participants also dived into seasonal climate, ocean and tropical cyclone outlooks for the western Pacific region for 1 May to 30 October 2025.
But in setting the foundation for the half-day meeting, Mr Naheed Hussein, SPREP Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA) Project Manager, said PICOF should not just be about sharing seasonal predictions.
“This meeting is about making sure what we share is used, understood, and translated into national action. The real success of PICOF lies in how well NMHS are able to take this information back to their countries, host National Climate Outlook Forums (NCOFs), and engage with the people who need this information the most—farmers, disaster managers, water resource teams, fishers, and schools,” said Mr Hussein.
“PICOF is just one part of the chain. We must continue encouraging all NMHS to host and sustain their own NCOFs. This is where national decisions happen—where local ministries and sector partners engage.
“We urge you to make NCOFs regular, reliable, and relevant. Climate information has no value unless it’s translated into decisions. And those decisions happen at home—in your countries.”
The notion was echoed by WMO representative for the South-West Pacific, Mr Henry Taiki, who acknowledged the life-saving nature of the work by all participants and how important it is to sustain it to protect communities and lives.
“It is a pleasure for WMO to see how PICOF, now in it’s sixteenth session, has developed and evolved over the ten years to continue to meet the needs of our Pacific communities. On that note, I would like to acknowledge our WMO Members in the Pacific and all the Met Services, staff and experts in national hydrological services and international organisations like SPREP, Pacific Community (SPC) and others RCC members for all the work you continue to do,” said Mr Taiki.
“We have seen how the information and the knowledge shared at these forums have not only assisted our communities in terms of early warning systems, but the use has now been broadened to most recently by insurance companies to develop a parametric insurance scheme as we have seen in Samoa, Tonga, and other countries.
“So when we talk about engaging with the user, this is what we mean. The insurance company actually determines the purpose of the indicator and then the Met Service and the National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) work towards that.”
The PICOF 16 is organised by SPREP, with technical support provided by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), APEC Climate Centre (APCC), Meteo-France, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Pacific Community (SPC) and the University of Hawaii as members of the Pacific Regional Climate (RCC) Network Node for Long-Range Forecasting in partnership with the Pacific Meteorological Council through the Pacific Islands Climate Services (PICS) Panel.
The latter ensures the needs of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), and their stakeholders are met. PICOF sessions are co-sponsored by the CLIMSA through European Union funding while BOM, NIWA, SPREP and SPC support is largely provided via the Australian and New Zealand Aid funded Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac).
SPREP further called for the strengthening of partnerships between NMHS and RCC.
“We’ve made great progress. But now, it’s time to be more ambitious, more visionary. Let’s ensure PICOF reflects our regional needs and continues to evolve,” added Mr Hussein.
“Partnership is our power. None of us can do this alone. The Pacific is one community. We rise together, and our collaboration—through PICOF, RCC, and beyond—is what will ensure our people are not only informed but protected.”
PICOFs, held twice a year, aims to discuss and produce objective, user-relevant regional climate and ocean outlook guidance in real time to support Pacific NMHSs.
The goal is to reduce climate-related risks and support sustainable development for the coming season in sectors of critical socioeconomic significance.
Main Photo Credit: Australian Embassy FSM.