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Meteorological technicians from seven Pacific Island countries have officially begun a ten-week intensive training course in Tonga, building the practical observation and technical skills that back every weather forecast, warning and climate outlook issued in the region.

The Pacific region’s National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) convene today in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, for the opening of the Eighth Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-8), running from 10 to 14 September 2026, part of Pacific Meteorological Week. 

A three-day training was carried out at the Niue Meteorological Service (NMS) to help strengthen the capacity of its Climate Services team to use a range of climate prediction tools and platforms in order to get the best possible climate outlooks and seasonal predictions for Niue. 

Pacific weather and climate leaders met in Apia this week to review the region's plan for the next ten years of weather, climate and ocean services, work that is helping the Pacific prepare for cyclones, droughts, floods and rising seas. 

For Ms. Mwata Keariki, a career in meteorology wasn't something she had planned. In fact, after graduating from the University of the South Pacific with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, she imagined herself working in the environmental sector.

But sometimes the most rewarding careers begin with an unexpected opportunity.

Tonga continues to enhance and strengthening its national resilience to slow-onset climate events, with the development of its first National El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Directive, which will provide national guidance in a more coordinated  mechanism to guide preparedness, coordination, communication and response across sectors to the impacts of El Niño and La Niña events.

The Tonga Meteorological Service (TMS) is set to enter a new frontier in its work to incorporate traditional environmental indicators in weather and climate forecasting and warning systems following a week-long training workshop held at the TMS headquarters in Fua’amotu.

The enhancement of Tonga's pioneering Traditional Knowledge (TK) database as a unique and innovative resource to be used by TMS, including for its daily television weather bulletin, was the focus of the workshop organised by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) through the Climate and Oceans Support Program in the Pacific Phase 3 (COSPPac3) project. 

The Vanuatu Klaemet Infomesen blong Redy, Adapt mo Protekt (VanKIRAP) project was a USD 22 million initiative funded by the Green Climate Fund and implemented by SPREP in partnership with the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department (VMGD). It has now reached its conclusion. What it leaves behind is a body of work that stretches from high-level climate science all the way to the last mile of rural communities: strengthened early warning systems, improved climate information services, and communities across Vanuatu better equipped to prepare, adapt, and protect themselves.

A five-day workshop in Python programming for climate data analysis is underway this week in Nukuʿalofa, bringing together National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS) staff from across Polynesia through the funding support of the European Union’s Climate Services and Related Applications Programme in the Pacific (ClimSA).

For Bouchard Solomona, a career in climate science began almost as soon as he left the classroom.

Joining the Cook Islands Meteorological Service (CIMS) straight out of school, Bouchard has spent the past nine years serving the people of the Cook Islands, helping to monitor and understand the climate and weather patterns that affect communities across the country.

“I love science,” he says. “I took a lot of science subjects in school, so it felt like a natural fit. It’s been good so far.”

El Niño conditions have now been established in the Pacific. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) values have met the established thresholds required to formally declare El Niño conditions.

The Pacific Regional Climate Centre (Pacific RCC) is drawing attention to the latest El Niño/La Niña Update issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which signals a significant and accelerating shift in Pacific Ocean conditions heading into the second half of 2026.