MEDIA RELEASE
Released By:
Hunt
Australia will provide $3 million to help 10 Pacific island countries improve long-range climate predictions, the Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Greg Hunt, announced today.
The Pacific Islands Climate Prediction Project in Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea will be funded by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) over three years.
Mr Hunt announced the funding to mark World Meteorological Day (23 March).
'The project will be managed by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and will aim to improve the reliability of climate prediction,' Mr Hunt said.
'Using purpose-built software, the Bureau will work with Pacific meteorological services to improve their confidence in interpreting climate prediction information.
'Staff with the Bureau of Meteorology have been helping their Pacific counterparts to develop their understanding and use of weather and climate information for many years.
'The Pacific services are now moving beyond interpreting weather information to producing climate related information applicable to users' needs.
'Improved weather predictions will allow water resource management agencies and health authorities to prepare for the months ahead using probability-based forecasts.
'Long-range climate prediction will also assist the agricultural, fishing and tourism industries in planning and can help Pacific island countries to prepare for the potential impact of climate change.'
Mr Hunt said the work would deepen knowledge of climate and weather in the Pacific and had the potential to improve Australia's ability to predict regional climate change.
For further information about the Pacific Islands Climate Prediction Project visit www.bom.gov.au/climate/pi-cpp/
Media contacts:
John Deller (Mr Hunt's office) 0400 496 596
AusAID Public Affairs 0417 680 590