PICOF-3 Objectives:
The specific objectives of Climate Technical Meeting include the following:
- To compare the various seasonal climate forecast guidance for the Pacific region and discuss how these are produced in terms of accuracy, utility, weaknesses and strengths of the regionally produced guidance;
- To compare and refine national level consensus-based climate outlooks for the upcoming season (October–November–December);
- To discuss how NMHSs are currently accessing and assessing the available guidance, making them nationally-relevant and disseminating them to users and the use of games to assist in this effort;
- To discuss and develop a draft Regional Statement on status of El Nino Southern Oscillation and impacts of Tropical Cyclone Season 2017/18
The specific objectives of PICOF-3 include the following:
- To build collaboration and partnerships among NMHSs and the Health sector;
- To identify the needs of the Health sector for climate services;
- To discuss opportunities for integrating climate information into Health and health services.
- To discuss how representatives from the Health sector are using or may use the guidance (or some derivative from it);
- To continue capacity building/human resource development activities for the Pacific region, particularly in seasonal prediction;
- To provide a platform for the stakeholders through the PICOF to share and exchange experiences and knowledge on wet/tropical cyclone season and its prediction;
Expected Outcomes:
- The Forum is expected to improve the understanding of how seasonal climate outlooks are produced, how they are and can be made regionally and nationally relevant, and how they can be tailored to the needs of users from the Health community.
- PICOF-3 Statement on “Impacts and lessons learned from the 2016/17 La Nina for Climate/Health and outlook and preparations for the 2017/18 El Nino neutral.
Regional Consensus Forecast (rainfall and SST for Nov 2017-Jan 2018) for SW Pacific Islands and North Pacific Islands.