A three days workshop highlighting the importance of meteorological services in weather forecasting and climate issues in Solomon Islands got underway on Tuesday.
The three day workshop is being organized by the Solomon Islands Meteorological Services and pulled together participants from a range of government and semi-government organizations who are mostly users of climate services in the country.
The workshop was aimed at providing in-depth knowledge and understanding to users of climate and weather information in their respective areas of work.
Participants came from the Ministries of Environment, Agriculture and Livestock, Health and Medical Services, Mines and Energy, Fisheries, Prime Minister’s Office, SIEA and SIBC.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Meteorology, Chanel Iroi told participants of the importance of services provided by the Meteorology division in Solomon Islands.
“Having a better understanding of climate and weather issues is useful for analyzing and interpreting information which help users in planning and decision making in their participation in the socio-economic development of the country,” Mr Iroi said.
Director of Met Services David Hiriasia added that; “climate information for any respective stakeholder is only useful to those who know how to interpret it.
“This is critical, especially, when disseminating information and early warnings to the ordinary people prior to the occurrence of natural hazards,” Mr Hiriasia said.
Day one of the workshop looked at several areas which included climate services, basic climate science, types of weather forecasting, understanding of weather, climate and types of forecasting and variability.
The workshop continues today.
