Cook Islands Meteorological Service is among five Pacific islands nations with access to approximately US$50 million (NZ$82m) to enhance its capability.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved the funding last year for these countries’ Meteorological Service programmes through the next five years.

Cook Islands Meteorological Service director, Arona Ngari, said this project was under the United Nations Environment Programme where funds were designated for five countries in the Pacific as part of the GCF.

The countries identified were the Cook Islands, Niue, Tuvalu, Palau, and the Republic of the Marshalls, Ngari said.

“With funds of approximately 50 million USD, this is to enhance the capability of the meteorological services of these countries to monitor weather and climate as well as to improve the quality of the monitoring so as to get a better early warning system.”

Ngari said that for the Cook Islands, this would mean the installation of automatic weather stations on all inhabited islands and the regular maintenance of these stations over time.

“There is also the recommencing of the balloon flights on a daily basis and eventually a surveillance radar on Rarotonga to improve the quality of weather forecasting and a service to the aviation industry.”

Restarting the weather balloon project for upper airspace, upgrading the automatic weather observation stations (AWOS) on the Pa Enua, certification of Part 174 Aviation Meteorological Service Organisations, and the installation of weather buoys for early warning have been the Met Service's priorities, Ngari added.