Be vigilant, don’t take unnecessary risks if you hear the weather is going to be bad.
Meteorologist Ben Noll made this plea as Fiji and its Pacific neighbours continue to feel the lasting impact of climate change on their shores.
With the current predictions of a few cyclones hitting home, Mr Noll urged people to be kept well-informed, be aware of the risks, and ensure they were kept safe.
“We have thought about climate change as being something that will happen to future generations and people many decades from now,” he said.
“But really, I think the future is now, we are experiencing the effects of climate change now and those effects may actually continue to amplify in the short term such as over the next decade.
“So, I think being vigilant, not taking unnecessary risks if you hear the weather is going to be bad, heed those warnings because it may end up saving your life, your family’s life, your property, and things that really matter to you.”
Meteorologists at the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research in Auckland, New Zealand, said tools were available to help people understand those risks.
He said using those tools to our advantage would be of great assistance for the Pacific which was vulnerable to climate change.
