PICOF-17
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The 17th Pacific Climate Outlook Forum (PICOF-17) was the second PICOF event held this year. It was kindly hosted by the Vanuatu Meteorology and Geo-Hazards Department on behalf of the Ministry of Climate Change Adaptation, Meteorology, Geo-Hazards, Environment, Energy and Disaster Management and the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu on 22–23 October 2025 in Port Vila, Vanuatu.
PICOF-17 reviewed climate and oceanic conditions in the western Pacific region for the period of April to October 2025, presented and discussed long-term trends and projections for selected climate and ocean variables, and provided monthly and seasonal climate, ocean, and tropical cyclone outlooks for the north Pacific region for the same season. The Forum also discussed and reviewed the confidence and skill of the November 2025 to April 2026 climate, ocean, and tropical cyclone outlooks.
Key outcomes of PICOF-17 included:
- Strengthened understanding of climate and ocean monitoring and prediction for April–October 2025 season;
- Improved understanding of the confidence and skill of climate, ocean, and tropical cyclone outlooks; and
- The development of a regional PICOF statement containing climate, ocean, and tropical cyclone outlooks for November 2025 to April 2026, which Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) can use as guidance to prepare their own national and community-level outlook statements.
The Forum brought together climate experts under the auspices of the WMO RA V (South-West Pacific) Pacific Regional Climate Centre Network (RCC-N) from across the PICTs, regional organizations such as SPREP and SPC, and institutions including the Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM), Earth Sciences New Zealand (ESNZ), Météo-France, APEC Climate Center (APCC), University of Hawaii, and the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as well as members of the Pacific Islands Climate Services (PICS) Panel. These efforts contribute to the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) Initiative.
The Pacific Regional Climate Outlook Forum (PICOF) is held twice a year, following the WMO Regional Climate Outlook Forum (RCOF) concept. It provides a regional platform for discussing and producing user-relevant climate and ocean outlook guidance to support PICTs’ NMHSs. The NMHSs, in turn, use this regional guidance to produce national climate and ocean information for stakeholders at both national and community levels, with the ultimate aim of reducing climate-related risks through informed decision-making, strengthening resilience, and sustainable development.
PICOF-17 was co-organized by SPREP and the RA V Pacific RCC-N, with technical support from BoM, ESNZ, APCC, Météo-France, NOAA, SPC, and the University of Hawaii, in partnership with the PICS Panel. The event was co-sponsored by the Australian and New Zealand Aid-funded Climate and Ocean Support Program in the Pacific (COSPPac) and Pacific/SPREP CLimSA.