A Government Minister is calling on Caribbean governments and weather experts around the region to continue cooperation in the area of meteorology.

The call came from Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resources Management, Dr. David Estwick, as he addressed the opening ceremony of the 53rd meeting of the Caribbean Meteorological Council, yesterday at the Radisson Aquatica Resort.

The Agriculture Minister noted that the theme: A Global Framework for Climate Services was a timely one as it emphasised the importance of collaboration between weather experts throughout the region, especially through the work of the Caribbean Meteorological Organization.

???Collaboratively, the whole question of climate variability is dealt with on a daily basis. This is important as worldwide we are now witnessing more intense storms, floods, droughts and other natural hazards.

???Information emanating from the World Meteorological Organization, as recently as Wednesday, November 13, 2013 indicates that the year 2013 is currently on course to being among the top 10 warmest years since modern records began in 1850,??? said Dr. Estwick.

He noted that climate???sensitive developing countries like Barbados would continue to benefit tremendously from timely meteorological information He added: ???Concomitantly, the widespread influence of climate and diverse uses of climate information across public policy and business decision-making means that even small improvements in climate services can leverage enormous impacts, saving and improving lives.???

The Agriculture Minister lauded the local meteorological services and the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology & Hydrology for what he described as ???excellent work???. He added that often people looked outside the region for information and advice when they were already available within the region.

The Caribbean Meteorological Organization, an arm of the World Meteorological Organization, was established in 1951 to facilitate CARICOM countries.

aisha.reid@barbados.gov.bb

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