23 October 2025, Port Vila – Bushfires, hailstorms, widespread flooding, heatwaves and droughts were some of the hazards reported by meteorological services in the Pacific Region between May and October this year.
These hazards resulted in a range of impacts including losses to agricultural productivity, disruption to businesses, damage to infrastructure, road closures and loss of marine life. While the impacts vary across the Pacific, the adverse effects on livelihoods raise alarm bells and calls for better preparedness.
The 17th Session of the Pacific Islands Climate Outlook Forum (PICOF-17) is underway in Port Vila, Vanuatu, attended by participants from national meteorological services in eighteen Pacific countries and territories, experts from regional meteorological services and partner organisations, scientists, academic institutions and the media.
The Chair of the Pacific Meteorological Council and Director of the Vanuatu Meteorological and Geohazards Department, Mr. Levu Antfalo, warmly welcomed all participants to the forum and recognised Vanuatu as the proud host of PICOF-17.
"PICOF is a very important event for the meteorological community in the region, which has evolved beyond a technical meeting to a Pacific family space, a collaborative platform where meteorologists, oceanographers, disaster managers and sector partners come together to interpret what the science is telling us, and more importantly, to translate that knowledge into action for our communities," said Mr. Antfalo.
He further highlighted the importance of interpreting scientific data and, more importantly, translating that knowledge into actionable strategies for the benefit of Pacific communities, especially as the South Pacific enters the 2025-2026 wet and cyclone season.
"The stakes are once again high, requiring us to constantly evaluate how we communicate this information beyond the scientific community to produce accurate outlooks and ensure that they are understood, trusted, and acted on. It means we need to work even more closely with disaster management offices, ministries of agriculture and fisheries, schools, the private sector, and the media," added Mr. Antfalo.
PICOF is held twice a year to discuss and produce objective, user-relevant regional climate and ocean outlook guidance in real time to support national meteorological services in Pacific Island Countries and Territories. The forum supports these agencies produce national climate and ocean monitoring and prediction information for their stakeholders, with the aim of reducing climate-related risks and supporting sustainable development for the coming season in sectors of critical socioeconomic significance.
During the forum, participants reviewed climate and oceanic conditions in the Pacific region from May to October, they discussed long-term trends and projections for selected climate and ocean variables, along with monthly and seasonal climate, ocean and tropical cyclone outlooks for the region.
An official statement will be issued in the coming days, following which national meteorological services will release a national summary of recent conditions and a forecast for the coming season for their country. The public are encouraged to connect with their national meteorological service for locally relevant updates.
PICOF-17 is a joint event supported by the Australian and New Zealand Aid funded Climate and Ocean Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac, the EU-funded Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications Programme (Intra-ACP ClimSA) SPREP and the Global Climate Fund UNEP CIS-Pac 5 Project.