Samoa has strengthened its weather forecasting and climate monitoring capacity with the launch of new automated weather stations, climate information systems and operational resources worth around $1.8 million.
This was done under the European Union-funded Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications (ClimSA) Programme.
The Samoa Meteorological Services installed four new Automated Weather Stations across the country, with another three stations currently being set up to strengthen Samoa’s nationwide weather network. The stations automatically collect and transmit real-time information on rainfall, temperature, wind speed and direction, humidity and atmospheric pressure, sending data directly to the Samoa Meteorological Services to improve the accuracy and speed of local forecasts and severe weather warnings.
Minister for the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ale Vena Ale, said the launching of the new systems and resources, including automatic weather stations, the meteorology mobile application, statistical information board and operational vehicles, represented “a significant investment towards improving climate care services, public access to weather information and operational capacity within Samoa’s Meteorological Division.”
