The Tuvalu Meteorological Service (TMS) is the principal meteorological observatory of

Tuvalu Tuvalu ( or ; formerly known as the Ellice Islands) is an island country and microstate in the Polynesian subregion of Oceania in the Pacific Ocean. Its islands are situated about midway between Hawaii and Australia. They lie east-northea ...

and is responsible for providing weather services to the islands of Tuvalu. A meteorological office was established on Funafuti at the time the islands of Tuvalu were administered as parts of the

Gilbert and Ellice Islands The Gilbert and Ellice Islands (GEIC as a colony) in the Pacific Ocean were part of the British Empire from 1892 to 1976. They were a protectorate from 1892 to 12 January 1916, and then a colony until 1 January 1976. The history of the colony w ...

colony of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. The meteorological office is now an agency of the

government of Tuvalu The politics of Tuvalu takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, whereby the Monarch is the head of state, represented by the Governor-General, while the Prime Minister is the head of government. Ex ...

. The main observational office is on Funafuti. TMS operates outstations on

Nanumea Nanumea is the northwesternmost atoll in the Polynesian nation of Tuvalu, a group of nine coral atolls and islands spread over about of the Pacific Ocean just south of the equator and west of the International Date Line. Nanumea is with a ...

, Nui and Niulakita. TMS operates or monitors: 4 synoptic stations; 5 rainfall stations; 1 upper air research program; 1 tide gauge with

Tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...

warning system; 1 Continuous

Global Positioning System The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of the global navigation satellite ...

(CGPS) station; 1 seismic station. The TMS publishes

weather forecast Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...

s, warnings as to tropical cyclones, weather charts and weather satellite images on its website, with weather forecasts and storm warnings also broadcast by the

Tuvalu Media Corporation Tuvalu Media Corporation (TMC) was a government-owned corporation established in 1999 to take over the radio and print based publications of the Broadcasting and Information Office (BIO) of the small Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu. However, in 200 ...

, which operates Radio Tuvalu.

History

The meteorological office on Funafuti was established in 1951 under the auspices of the South Pacific Air Transport Council (SPATC). An upper air observation programme was established in 1960. After the dissolution of SPATC in 1979, the

Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited (MetService - Te Ratonga Tirorangi) is the national meteorological service of New Zealand. MetService was established as a state-owned enterprise in 1992. It employs about 300 staff, and its headqua ...

supported the upper air programme until the TMS assumed responsibility for the programme, with continuing support by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT)/ NZAID. The TMS works with the New Zealand MetService, the Fiji Meteorological Service, the Australian

Bureau of Meteorology The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM or BoM) is an executive agency of the Australian Government responsible for providing weather services to Australia and surrounding areas. It was established in 1906 under the Meteorology Act, and brought together ...

, Geoscience Australia, the

United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, ...

and the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

. Ms Hilai Vavae retired as Director of the Tuvalu Met Service in 2014.

Climatology of Tuvalu

Tuvalu participates in the operations of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). The climate of the Pacific region at the equator is influenced by a number of factors; the science of which is the subject of continuing research. The SPREP described the climate of Tuvalu as being: The sea level in Tuvalu varies as a consequence of a wide range of atmospheric and oceanographic influences. The 2011 report of the ''Pacific Climate Change Science Program'' published by the Australian Government, describes a strong zonal (east‑to-west) sea-level slope along the equator, with sea level west of the International Date Line (180° longitude) being about a half metre higher than found in the eastern equatorial Pacific and South American coastal regions. The trade winds that push surface water westward create this zonal tilting of sea level on the equator. Below the equator a higher sea level can also be found about 20° to 40° south (Tuvalu is spread out from 6° to 10° south). The ''Pacific Climate Change Science Program'' Report (2011) describes the year-by-year volatility in the sea-level as resulting from the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO): The Pacific (inter-)decadal oscillation is a climate switch phenomenon that results in changes from periods of La Niña to periods of El Niño. This has an effect on sea levels. For example, in 2000 there was a switch from periods of downward pressure of El Niño on sea levels to an upward pressure of La Niña on sea levels, which upward pressure causes more frequent and higher high tide levels. The Perigean spring tide (often called a king tide) can result in seawater flooding low-lying areas of the islands of Tuvalu.

Role of the Tuvalu Meteorological Service

The purpose of the meteorological programmes operated by the TMS is to gather data in the tropical western Pacific so as to work to achieve “accurate production of weather forecasts, seasonal and interannual climate forecasting (ENSO predictions), and understanding changes in climate and sea level for Tuvalu and its neighbouring Pacific Islands. Tuvalu lies across a known development region for tropical cyclones and ENSO activity. It provides crucial data to global weather, climate modelling and forecasting centres. It also provides the key data used for tropical cyclone and ENSO forecasting.”

Meteorological programmes

The TMS operates 2 meteorological programmes (surface observation programme and upper air programme) and hosts other climatological research projects.

Surface observations

The TMS carries out ground level observations of various weather elements. This data is shared with collaborating partners in the

World Meteorological Organization The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for promoting international cooperation on atmospheric science, climatology, hydrology and geophysics. The WMO originated from the Inter ...

- World Weather Watch (WWW), the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS) and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS).

Upper air observations

The upper air observation programme in Funafuti makes radiosonde observations to collect upper air weather for weather forecasting and research. The radiosonde observations use a small, expendable instrument package is suspended below a wide balloon filled with

hydrogen Hydrogen is the chemical element with the symbol H and atomic number 1. Hydrogen is the lightest element. At standard conditions hydrogen is a gas of diatomic molecules having the formula . It is colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-to ...

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic ta ...

. As the radiosonde rises at about 300 meters/minute (1,000 ft/min), sensors on the radiosonde measure profiles of pressure, temperature, and relative humidity. These sensors are linked to a battery-powered radio transmitter that sends the sensor measurements to a ground receiver. By tracking the position of the radiosonde in flight, information on wind speed and direction are also obtained. The data is shared with Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers (RSMCs) in Nadi,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metro ...

and

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

. The weather modelling carried out by the RSMCs enables more accurate forecasts to be prepared for Tuvalu and for the tropical western Pacific.

Tropical cyclone prediction

The meteorological observations of the TMS are shared with other regional agencies that attempt to predict how many

tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Dep ...

s and severe tropical cyclones will develop within the Southern Pacific. New Zealand's

National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA ( mi, Taihoro Nukurangi), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental scien ...

(NIWA) and collaborating agencies including the Meteorological Service of New Zealand and Pacific Island National Meteorological Services (including the TMS) issue the "Island Climate Update Tropical Cyclone Outlook" for the Pacific. This forecast attempts to predict how many tropical cyclones and severe tropical cyclones will develop within the Southern Pacific between 135°E and 120°W as well as how many will affect a particular island nation. The Fiji Meteorological Service, while collaborating with NIWA and partners, also publishes its own seasonal forecast for the South Pacific basin between 160°E and 120°W. The data collected by the regional meteorological agencies is provided to the World Meteorological Organisation, which publishes current tropical cyclone information for the South-West Pacific Ocean.

Other climatological research programmes and projects

The TMS also hosts other scientific and research programmes, which involves the TMS monitoring: * The tide gauge, which was installed in 1978 by the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. * The SEAFRAME tide gauge, which is modern Aquatrak acoustic gauge installed in 1993 by the Australian National Tidal Facility (NTF) as part of the AusAID-sponsored South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project. TMS participates in research projects including: * South Pacific Sea Level and Climate Monitoring Project (SPSLCMP): which was developed in 1991 as an Australian Government response to “concerns raised by member countries of the

South Pacific Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 1 ...

over the potential impacts of human-induced global warming on climate and sea levels in the Pacific”. This project is conducted in conjunction with Geoscience Australia (GA), which installed a Continuous

(CGPS) station at the TMS office. * Climate and Ocean Monitoring and Prediction (COMP) project: established by Australian Bureau of Meteorology as part of the Pacific Islands Climate Prediction Project (PI-CPP). * Seasonal Climate Outlooks in Pacific Island Countries (SCOPIC) project: established by Australian Bureau of Meteorology, which is a “

decision support system A decision support system (DSS) is an information system that supports business or organizational decision-making activities. DSSs serve the management, operations and planning levels of an organization (usually mid and higher management) and ...

for generating probabilistic predictions (seasonal climate outlooks) for rainfall, temperature or other climate related parameters”.

Membership of meteorological and geoscience organizations

TMS participates in the activities of: * The

(WMO). * The South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission (SOPAC). * The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP). * SOPAC / SPREP / WMO sponsored meetings of Regional Meteorological Service Directors and Regional Disaster Managers. * The Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC): is a specialized subsidiary body of SPREP, established in July 2011 at the 14th Regional Meteorological Services Directors meeting in Majuro,

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Inte ...

on a bi-annual basis to facilitate and coordinate the scientific and technical programme and activities of the Regional Meteorological Services. * The Online Climate Outlook Forum (OCOF): also known as the Pacific Islands online Climate Outlook Forum (PICOF) that is a monthly discussion among Pacific Island National Meteorological Services (NMS) and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The OCOF assists in the implementation of the SCOPIC project and the Climate Adaptation Projects that are supported by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.