Secretary-General Taalas,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen.

Greetings to one and all gathered with us here on World Meteorological Day.

Were she alive today, my mother would have turned 100 years old in a week’s time. She worked at the Meteorological Office in Fiji during the Second World War, and so to her and all you meteorologists out there, I say “Happy Anniversary!”

Coming from an island community and having lived through many an extreme weather event, I have the highest of respect for meteorologists. And so, first up, on behalf of mariners at risk, vulnerable coastal dwellers, rain-dependent farmers, and so many others, I want to thank all you weather-people for the great work you do on our behalf.

My first job in the service of the Government of Fiji was as district officer for Navua, a mountainous district with a ninety kilometre coastline dissected by a big river. I was six months into this district administration role when a once-in-twenty years hurricane came upon us, flooding the coast, destroying infrastructure, including the only bridge across that river, and decimating every village of the district. Being one of those responsible for preparedness, response and recovery, I’m so grateful we had radios and that the weather service in Fiji, even back then, was so reliable.

That all happened in 1972, and sadly since then the frequency and severity of tropical storms striking Fiji has increased with every passing decade. The Southern Hemisphere’s most intense tropical cyclone to make landfall, Tropical Cyclone Winston, hit Fiji with winds of up to 285 kilometres per hour in 2016. The effect was devastating, with 44 Fijians killed, tens of thousands homeless, and over $1.4 billion dollars’ worth of damage to our economy.

Before and since Winston, Ocean water temperatures have continued to rise, proliferating tropical storms and increasing their intensity. Preparedness is key to saving lives and property, so never has the accurate functioning of meteorological services in the South Pacific been more important than it is now.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It would not have passed your notice when it was released last December, that WMO’s provisional report on the State of the Global Climate in 2020 showed Climate Change continuing its relentless march. 2020 was reported to be one of the three warmest years on record, with 2011 to 2020 the warmest decade on record.

An important lesson from the COVID-19 is that Climate Change does not stop for pandemics. Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold caused widespread destruction when it swept through the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji and Tonga ten months ago. The challenge to responders was multiplied by COVID-19 restrictions and once more we take off our hats in deep respect for the storm’s victims and those who came to their aid.

The pandemic has put a great strain around the world on weather services, with WMO’s Integrated Global Observing System not immune in that regard. The devotion to duty by meteorologists, evident throughout COVID-19’s restrictions, is worthy of high praise. Resilience and safety depend on the preparedness these services provide us all, so on behalf of a grateful world, again I say thank you to all dedicated meteorologists.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

To better appreciate what is going on, our powers of observation and prediction must be enhanced. There is so much about the Ocean that remains unknown and that is not as it should be; for along with the energy of the sun, the Ocean is the great regulator of planetary conditions.

We do know that its absorption of heat trapped by increasing greenhouse gas emissions has warmed its waters, leading to marine heatwaves, death of coral, melting ice and rising sea levels. We also know that if we can better understand the interplay between the Ocean, weather and climate, the better we will be able to predict and prepare for weather and climate hazards both on land and sea.

It still amazes me that with it covering over 70% of the planetary surface, and with the majority of life on this planet harbored in the Ocean, that so much of our economic and scientific endeavor has just ignored it. In fact, the great majority of the Ocean’s properties remain unknown to science and we are only scratching the surface of the potential benefits of the sustainable blue economy

The time has come for us to change all that for the better, always ruled by the principle of sustainability, in the process bringing greater respect and balance to our relationship with the Ocean. And so, with the start of 2021, we began the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, during which we expect to witness a huge upsurge of knowledge about the Ocean. As an aside, may I say I was very glad to learn that today’s event has been officially registered as a Decade activity. I have no doubt that WMO’s commitment to the Decade’s success will play a big part in reaching its agreed goals of achieving a safe, predicted and transparent Ocean.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

You may have heard my mantra: “No healthy planet without a healthy Ocean”, to which must be added, “the Ocean’s health is currently in decline.” We are endeavoring to set that right by faithful implementation of the targets of SDG14, the UN’s goal of conserving and sustainably using the Ocean’s resources. Critical to success of SDG14 will be heightened ambition of nationally determined contributions under the Paris Climate Agreement, and we will have moments of truth in that regard at the UNFCCC COP in Glasgow this year, and at the second UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon next year.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said in his State of the Planet speech in New York last December, that humanity has been waging a war against Nature, and that the time has come, before it is too late, for us to make peace with Nature.

To a gathering such as this, I need not spell out the role of anthropogenic greenhouse gases in taking us towards the brink in that war against Nature. But I do say to you that we must all decide whether we are on the side of the peacemakers or not. And let me say that overcoming the great existential challenges of our times, both in word and deed, requires the Ocean’s place to be front and centre in all of our plans relating to biodiversity loss and the looming Climate Crisis.

And please allow me to also restate, loud and clear, that those anthropogenic heat-trapping gases are the common enemy of the Climate Crisis and the declining health of the Ocean. It is thus that we say that Climate Change and Ocean Change are inextricably linked, and it is gratifying that WMO has reinforced this in its selection of the theme of this year’s World Meteorological Day. I trust this linkage will now never be broken in our work ahead.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

With the heartening return of the United States to the Paris Agreement, it was particularly pleasing to see that great champion of Ocean Action, Senator John Kerry, appointed as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate.

True to his long commitment to the Ocean’s well-being, in his January speech at the Ocean and Climate Summit, Senator Kerry said, “You cannot protect the Ocean without solving Climate Change, and you cannot solve Climate Change without protecting the Ocean….So we need to say goodbye to silos. When you are meeting about the Ocean, you are meeting about the Climate…” and of course, vice versa.

If we have learnt anything from this pandemic, we have learnt the lesson of connectivity. A tiny coronavirus has rammed that lesson home. Everything is connected, and the challenge is how to operationalize that reality. WMO’s choice of “the Ocean, our climate and weather” as today’s theme is step in the right direction.

In the countdown to the all-important COP26 in Glasgow in November, WMO’s choice of theme reflects the UN’s wish to bring synergy to our consideration of the problems and solutions redolent in Climate Change, Food Systems, Biodiversity loss, and the decline in the Ocean’s health. We have much work to do; let us ensure we do it together, with common purpose for the universal good.

I wish you all, a “Happy World Meteorological Day.”