Every morning for six months, Viva Malia Veikoso would prepare herself and walk to the Fiji Meteorological Service office in Namaka, Nadi. She was four months pregnant when the Basic Instructor for Public Weather Services Training began in May 2025, Viva faced a reality that would have deterred many: intensive technical training, monthly exams requiring 70% pass rates, assignments, projects, and the physical demands of pregnancy, all while thousands of miles from her young children and family in Tonga.

NUKU'ALOFA, TONGA — When visitors fly into Tonga's azure waters for whale watching in Vava'u, island-hopping across Ha'apai or diving the reefs of 'Eua, they rely on aviation systems that depend on accurate, certified weather information. Now, the Tonga Meteorological Service (TMS) is investing in the people and systems that keep those services and the economy running safely.