24 October 2017
Experts Discuss Impacts of Climate Change on Public Health in Pacific Region
UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
story highlights

PICOF-3 sought to identify the health sector’s needs for climate services and provide an opportunity to discuss the development, tailoring and communication of climate information to ensure its relevance for the health sector.

The Forum concluded with a Regional Statement on the 2017-2018 Climate and Tropical Cyclone Outlook for the Pacific Islands and the Potential Impacts on Human Health.

29 September 2017: Weather and climate can significantly impact public health in the Pacific region, according to experts attending a meeting that aimed to help alleviate such impacts based on weather and climate forecasts. The Third Pacific Islands Climate Outlook Forum (PICOF-3), which brought together experts from the meteorological and health sectors, recommended actions that governments can take to mitigate the adverse impacts on health of such phenomena as tropical cyclones.

PICOF-3 sought to: identify the health sector’s needs for climate services; provide an opportunity to discuss the development, tailoring and communication of climate information to ensure its relevance for the health sector; and identify opportunities for integrating climate information into health services. It also aimed to, inter alia: improve collaboration and partnerships among national meteorological and hydrological services (NMHSs) and the health sector; build regional capacity, particularly in seasonal prediction; provide a platform for stakeholders to share and exchange experiences and knowledge on predicting the tropical cyclone season; and improve understanding of how seasonal climate outlooks are produced, and how to make them more regionally and nationally relevant. PICOF-3 concluded with a Regional Statement on the 2017-2018 Climate and Tropical Cyclone Outlook for the Pacific Islands and the Potential Impacts on Human Health.

A Climate Technical Meeting preceded PICOF-3, during which regional NMHSs undertook a comparison of seasonal climate forecast guidance for the region, and discussed the accuracy, utility, weaknesses and strengths of such guidance.

A Climate Technical Meeting preceded PICOF-3, during which regional NMHSs undertook a comparison of seasonal climate forecast guidance for the region, and discussed the accuracy, utility, weaknesses and strengths of such guidance. The meeting also sought to refine national-level climate outlooks for the upcoming season; and identify ways for NMHSs to make climate forecast guidance nationally relevant and disseminate such guidance to users.

PICOF-3 convened in Apia, Samoa, from 27-29 September 2017. PICOF is coordinated by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) in partnership with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Pacific Met Desk Partnership. PICOF-1 focused on the water management sector, while PICOF-2 discussed disaster preparedness. [SPREP News Story] [PICOF-3 Website]


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