British Virgin Islands Plans to Establish a Local Meteorological Service
TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands - Plans are being made by the administration in the British Virgin Isalnds to establish a national meteorological service.
Currently, the Antigua National Meteorological Service provides these services to the territory through the Department of Disaster Management (DDM).
But the minister responsible for meteorology Kye Rymer said because of climate change and severe weather patterns, it is now time to establish a local office with increased capacity.
“The Ministry of Communications & Works is developing a national meteorological office to provide efficient and timely movement of meteorological information, which is necessary to provide forecasted data about weather conditions that can affect safety and improve sustainability,” Rymer stated.
He said several ministry personnel from the Airports Authority and the DDM recently met with a team from the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation where they started discussions on implementing a national meteorological service here in the territory.
With the commencement of non-stop flights from the US to the BVI, the minister pointed out that meteorological services are vital as severe weather patterns affect air transport operations.
“Severe or extreme weather events, climate variability, and projected climate scenarios can affect the aviation industry’s safety, efficiency, and profitability in the Virgin Islands. Therefore, developing a national meteorological service through a dedicated office is crucial to efficiently and effectively achieving several of the National Sustainable Development Plan’s national outcomes,” Rymer said.
He also pointed out that areas such as tourism, fishing, the marine environment, agriculture, aviation, and other services, which are all affected by the territory’s weather and climate conditions, stand to benefit from the new meteorological office.
Rymer added that an office of national meteorological services in the territory would improve weather observations and forecasting, provide data for infrastructure planning, and issue warnings and alerts for hydro-meteorological hazards.
“It would also maintain a historical record and provide relevant advice on national weather, climate, water, and environmental data issues for decision-making by the public and private sectors,” Rymer noted.
He added that the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation will support the BVI in developing the national meteorological service, as it has done in other Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries.
