The 5th meeting of the Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC) has wrapped up in Apia, Samoa.
Fifth Pacific Meteorological Council meeting in Apia Photo: Moera Tuila'epa / RNZI
The meeting brought together directors from the international development agency - the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHS), donor and funding agencies as well as the private sector to strengthen climate and weather services in the Pacific.
The head of the Tonga Met Service and the President of World Meteorological Office Regional Association 5, Ofa Fa'anunu, said NHMS directors felt a lot more investment should be going into dealing with extreme weather events in the region.
Ofa Fa'anunu Photo: Moera Tuila'epa / RNZI
Mr Fa'anunu said the Pacific is at the forefront of the world's changing climate.
"We feel that the things that are happening today like stronger tropical cyclones, a lot more flooding, a lot more droughts, even tsunami are big issues in the Pacific," he said.
"These are the things that are affecting us daily. We don't need to wait for 30 years to see the impact, this impact is happening now."
The next PMC meeting will be in the Cook Islands in 2020.