Mr Dale Destin, Director of the ABMS and Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), participated in the WMO Regional Association IV Hurricane Committee: Forty-fifth Session, in San Jose, Costa Rica, March 27-31, 2023, in preparations for the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season – June 1 to November 30, 2023
(https://community.wmo.int/en/meetings/ra-iv-hurricane-committee-45th-session-hc-45).
The main objective of the HC-45 was to review and update the operational plans for the upcoming hurricane season. The committee meets annually to ensure that all possible measures are in place to provide information on tropical cyclones (tropical depressions, tropical storms,
hurricanes) to put the residents of the Atlantic Basin (including the Caribbean Seas and the Gulf of Mexico) in the best position to protect life, property and livelihood.
The meeting also focused heavily on Early Warning for All – the United Nation’s (UN’s) Global Early Warning Initiative for the Implementation of Climate Adaptation, which was announced at COP27. The Initiative calls for the whole world to be covered by an early warning system by the end of 2027
(https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/early-warnings-all-action-planunveiled-cop27).
At a side meeting of HC-45, Mr Cyrille Honoré, Director of Disaster Risk Reduction and Public Services, WMO, confirmed that Antigua and Barbuda is among the first 30 countries selected to benefit from the UN’s Early Warning for All Initiative, which will provide coordinated and targeted support to scale up and sustain its early warning system. Mr Honoré also confirmed that the UN Secretary-General has sent a letter to heads of state and government of the initial group of countries
(https://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/early-warnings-all-initiative-scaledaction-ground).
This is the first time the Hurricane Committee has met in person since 2019, before the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The Committee was established in 1950 and has 28 member countries.
The Antigua and Barbuda Meteorological Services (ABMS) is a department within the Ministry of Tourism, Investment, Civil Aviation and Transportation. It is responsible for providing weather services for Antigua, Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands.