The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has taken action to improve the working environment of Haiti’s meteorological service as part of a wider initiative to strengthen forecast and early warning capabilities in the Caribbean nation and build its resilience face to climate hazards.

Two additional prefabricated offices to replace ageing temporary containers have been delivered to the National Hydro Meteorological Services of Haiti (NMHS) to allow staff to operate more effectively as the 2014 North Atlantic Hurricane season approaches. In the longer-term WMO has agreed to construct new permanent headquarters for the service.

The initiatives come under the auspices of the Haiti Weather Systems Programme – Climate Services to Reduce Vulnerability in Haiti. The programme aims to rehabilitate and modernize the weather, climate and hydrology forecasting infrastructure which was destroyed by the 2010 earthquake.

The WMO-led programme will build capacity, including training of both scientific and technical personnel and developing a business plan for the NMHS. It aims to strengthen the climatological and hydrological observing networks and implement an integrated data management system. It will also develop a wide-reaching dissemination system, to inform decision makers, stakeholders and the general public of climate related risks.

The development of climate services in Haiti will be an important test case for the Global Framework for Climate Services. This is a UN wide initiative, spearheaded by WMO, to provide accessible and informative climate services such as seasonal forecasts and drought monitors to help improve agriculture and food security, water management, disaster risk reduction and health outcomes in particular. About 70 countries in the world have inadequate climate services and some have none at all.

For the past four years, support has been provided by a coalition of WMO Members including Canada, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and the Caribbean Meteorological Organization.

Thanks to this support, Haiti now has a regularly updated website to provide and disseminate weather information and forecasts to the local and international community. New forecasters have been trained https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-3396-haiti-education-5-haitians-in-the-clouds.html and there has been a coordinated effort to extend the lead-time and improve the reliability of weather forecasts and warnings.

Thumbnail : Old installation in a container.

SL/ HaitiLibre