Trinidad and Tobago’s Meteorological Service is, as local parlance says, taking in front before in front takes the country and is ramping up its communication about the effects of climate change.
Its director Shakeer Baig wrote an article about climate change and its effects which follows below.
Newsday asked his reason for doing so. Baig said, “TT has been observing what is happening globally with this entire phenomenon of climate change.
“Within the last few weeks, the World Meteorological Service would have published various publications about the increasing effects of climate change at the global level.”
Temperature and sea-level rise were examples of this and were pointing in a very dangerous direction.
Baig said he thought it was necessary to, from the TT perspective, tell the population about climate change and its devastating effects on small-island developing states (SIDS).
He said he did not want to wait until something happened and then say something.
The country did not have to go far to observe the phenomena’s effects. Increased temperature and reduced rainfall patterns showed this.
“This has put water management under stress,” he said. “It has also led to air-quality issues, people suffering heat strokes and people going to the public health institutions and straining a system that is already under stress.”
The more recent examples of hurricanes Milton and Beryl also demonstrated how urgent a matter climate change had become.
[caption id="attachment_1114339" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Damaged boats in the water at the Bridgetown Fisheries, Barbados, on July 2 following the passage of Hurricane Beryl on July 1. - AP PHOTO[/caption]
“Very early in the (hurricane) season we had a hurricane developing to category five, that is Hurricane Beryl and lasting for such a long period of time.
“Then we also have to look at the recent effects Hurricane Milton had on Florida.”
All of these things led the service to believe that the time had come to increase its communication around the issue and it planned to partner with the media to do so.
SHAKEER BAIG
As the climate crisis intensifies, small island developing states like TT are grappling with the escalating impacts of global warming.
The nation's pristine beaches, coral reefs and lush ecosystems are under threat, while rising sea levels, higher temperatures, diminished rainfall and extreme weather events present a looming existential crisis.
Vulnerability of SIDS
TT, along with other SIDS, faces unique challenges due to geographic location, limited resources, and reliance on climate-sensitive industries such as tourism and fishing. For these nations, climate change is not just an environmental concern –it is an urgent socio-economic and existential issue.
According to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), SIDS are among the most vulnerable to climate impacts.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that sea levels could rise by up to a metre by the end of this century. This pr
