Trinidad and Tobago’s Permanent Representative with the World Meteorological Organization and Acting Director of the Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service has stressed that communities in low-lying coastal zone and in close connection with coastal environments, as is the case for Caribbean Small Island Developing States (CSIDS) are particularly exposed to a shrinking cryosphere and related downstream impacts and projected changes and risks on the ocean, such as sea level rise and extreme sea level.
He made interventions at the 19th World Meteorological Congress, during the session on Strategic Initiatives on priorities to address global and regional impacts of changes in the Cryosphere, which was held on May 31 in Geneva, Switzerland.
He pointed out that there is a need to strengthen and increase focus on the downstream impacts, from a shrinking cryosphere, particularly with respect to resources for monitoring of sea-level rise and extreme weather events that affect SIDSs coastal communities, going further to urged the WMO to emphasize the need for enhanced governance, monitoring, and context-specific and integrated responses that will enable improved delivery of services in line with priorities to mitigate the downstream impacts from a shrinking Cryosphere.
He highlighted the challenges that National Meteorological Services of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are facing with retaining appropriately qualified staff and supported the proposal for further expansion of the current WMO fellowship system to include more participants from SIDS, especially given the expectations of the Early Warning for All Initiative being led by the WMO.