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Tonga

Presented by

Taniela Takeifanga

ClimSA

Steering Committee Meeting

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Tonga Meteorological Service (MEIDECC) is implementing LOA AP_3/35/LOA 5 — 11 national activities totalling USD 679,500 (USD 228,000 TMS-managed) — spanning observation infrastructure, sector climate services, connectivity, and capacity development.
Automatic Weather Stations: 2 of 4 installed and operational (Fua'amotu and Matatoa, Tongatapu); Hunga Vava'u and Ha'apai sites scheduled for late 2026.
Sea level monitoring: procurement commenced for portable tide stations at Hunga Vava'u and Ha'ano, Ha'apai (USD 60,000).
Community connectivity: Starlink deployment for the Niuas endorsed — 10 kits for schools, health and community sites, supporting Early Warnings for All.
Climate services: full suite of specialist ToRs delivered — drought early warning, agriculture and maritime calendars, data rescue, COPE translation, and ICT.

Snapshot

Country

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Status update

National Activities Under ClimSA

#	Activity Description	ROG	Update for this period
1	Drought Activities	🟠 AMBER	Drought Early Warning Specialist ToR finalised; commencement July 2026.
2	ICT Training for TMS	🟢 GREEN	ICT Expert internal ToR produced; expert engagement and training package to follow.
3	Agriculture Sector Products	🟢 GREEN	ToR finalised for Vava'u vanilla and kava crop calendars; National TA recruitment in progress.
4	Maritime Services Sector	🟢 GREEN	Tide station procurement for Hunga Vava'u and Ha'ano commenced with Director's authorisation; quotations sought from three NZ suppliers. Tide calendar ToR finalised.
5	Weather & Climate Monitoring Network	🟢 GREEN	Fua'amotu and Matatoa AWS installed and operational; Milestone 2 evidence submitted to SPREP. Remaining two stations scheduled for late 2026.
6	Climate Data Rescue & Digitization	🟠 AMBER	ToR completed for the Data Entry Assistant; recruitment to be confirmed.

Walk the first six activities - lead with the greens:

Activity 1 Drought: specialist ToR finalized, Wiil be advertised this month (July). (12 months timeline). Key Deliverables: Reviewed National Drought Response Plan for Tonga and Develop District Drought Plans for all the 6 Island groups

- Activity 2 ICT Training for TMS: specialist ToR finalized, Wiil be advertised by the end of this month to early next month(JAuust). (4 months timeline) Aiming for local specialist to train the staff on Basic and advance ICT training

Activity 3 Agriculture Product: Very privileged to acknowledge the CEO of the Ministry of Agriculture for Tonga. One of our discussions that a Calender for Vanilla has been developed and Kava will follow. (12 months timeline) Therefore what remains is for the specialist to have these calendar linked to the ENSO phases (El-Nino, Neutral and La-Nina)
Activity 4 Maritime: tide station procurement underway with the Director's authorization - three NZ suppliers quoting for Hunga Vava'u and Ha’ano. The plan is to deploy these two stations by October and latest November. (3 months is the minimum duration needed to collect enough data to produce a tide calendar with help from SPC cospac) (12 months timeline) potential locations are to be made available by the end of this year. Key deliverables are Local tide calendars for each marine landing, Training for TMS to develop the calendars themselves, Tide calendar distributions. We have 2 to 3 solid technicians, unfortunately one is out of the country and will be returning in September, That is one when I can deploy them .
Activity 5 AWS: Fua'amotu and Matatoa operational. evidence is with SPREP. Remaining two stations to be installed late this year. Where location has been confirmed for Hunga Vava’u and Ha’afeva Ha’apai (Government Primary school) (6 months timeline).

- Activity 6 Climate Data Rescue On the ambers, upfront but calm: these are at recruitment-stage, not delivery problems -, Data Entry Assistant recruitment is next (and note: confirming that recruitment releases the first 50% payment of USD 9,000). (12 to 14 months timeline). The plan is to have the recruitment complete by no later than August. (12 months timeline)

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Status update

National Activities Under ClimSA

#	Activity Description	ROG (RED/ORANGE/GREEN)	Update for this period
7	Community Communication Tools & Early Warning	🟢 GREEN	Niuas Starlink phase endorsed: 10 kits, supplier selected, SPREP to issue the purchase order and manage subscriptions; deployment 6–20 Oct 2026.
8	Quality Management System for TMS	🟢 GREEN	Internal audit programme commenced, beginning with the Observations division — Weather Observations audit conducted 15 July 2026 against the Aerodrome Meteorological Reports Manual (Ed. 3).
9	Education Sector	🟢 GREEN	COPE book translation expert ToR prepared (3–4 month assignment) for the Tongan-language COPE book.
10	TMS Communication Strategy & TV Weather Services	🟢 GREEN	ToR drafted and to be finalized; recruitment to be confirmed by Late September.
11	National Climate Outlook Forums (NCOFs)	🟠 AMBER	Potential dates identified: NCOF Tongatapu 22 October 2026; NCOF Vava'u 12 November 2026. Concept note to follow.

Activities 7 to 11:

Activity 7 Starlink is the one to sell: Niuas phase endorsed, 10 kits, supplier selected, SPREP issuing the purchase order directly. Procurement ceiling for Tonga is low so we have requested SPREP to assist. Deployment 6-20 October. This links straight to Early Warnings for All. These island groups are isolated need these communication kits the most. (12 months timeline)

Activity 8 QMS: internal audit programmed has commenced - first weve trained internal auditors from TMS back in March and are certified, internal audit of the Observations division was completed 15 July followed by the Forecasting against the Aerodrome Meteorological Reports Manual Edition 3. (7 months timeline)

- Activity 9 Education sector: This are 9 booklets to be translated into the Tongan and to be made available in the schools. Earthquake; Floods; Tsunami; Storm surge; Drought; Wildfires/bush fires; Heat waves; Volcanoes, Climate Change. The target audience or age group is the age of 6 to 12 in the primary school level for awareness. (6 to 12 months timeline)

- Activity 10 Comms Strategy – TV Weather uniform completed for the Met staff for presentation, TMS Communication Strategy TOR to be advertised this July. This will involve with TV advertisement videos & production, consultation and also training reports

Activity 11 NCOFs: dates penciled in - Tongatapu 22 October, Vava'u 12 November. Concept note to follow (that note releases 60% of the activity, USD 18,000).

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Work Plan

Planning for Year 2026 Implementation

#	Description	Timeline	Summary
1	Niuas Starlink deployment	Oct 2026	6–20 Oct: 10 kits: 6 Niuafo'ou, 4 Niuatoputapu/Tafahi; two 4-person TMS teams; schools, hospital and community sites; Phase 1 budget TOP 69,300.
2	Complete AWS network	Oct–Nov 2026	Install Hunga Vava'u and Ha'apai stations to complete the 4-station network; triggers final milestone payment.
3	Tide monitoring stations	Q4 2026	Procure and deploy portable sea level stations at Hunga Vava'u and Ha'ano (USD 60,000); MOI clearance and community endorsement precede deployment.
4	Specialist onboarding	Jul–Dec 2026	Drought Early Warning Specialist commences July 2026; crop/tide calendar to be advertised and 12-month Data Entry Assistant recruited.

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Risks	Suggestions for Mitigation
Multi-phase Starlink connectivity (Niuas, Ha'apai, Vava'u — est. TOP 225,200) exceeds the LOA allocation of USD 70,000.	Decision paper submitted to the SC; phased implementation beginning with the Niuas within the current allocation; SPREP to issue the kit purchase order and manage subscriptions directly.
Inter-island shipping and vessel delays to remote deployment sites.	Early cargo bookings and pre-positioning of equipment; field calendar includes contingency; kits tested 2–4 weeks before deployment so warranty claims are resolved onshore.
Supplier quotation validity expiring during approval cycles. Procurement ceilings from Tonga is low to operate these orders.	Align TMS and SPREP approvals ahead of quote expiry; SPREP procures directly where the three-quote requirement is already met.
Equipment standardisation — new sensors and loggers differ from the ~30 systems in the existing national network.	Compatibility, spares and training weighted in technical evaluation; TMS retains full ownership and account credentials for connectivity equipment.
Cyclone-season constraints on outer-island fieldwork.	Deployments scheduled for October–November, ahead of peak season, with combined missions (Starlink, AWS, tide stations) to reduce travel.

Challenges &

Risk Mitigation

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Community financing model: district and town officers and community councils to agree arrangements to finance and maintain Starlink services once project support ends.

TMS retains full ownership of connectivity equipment and Starlink account credentials — avoiding rental models and vendor lock-in.

Procurement weighted toward standardisation with the existing national observation network to contain long-term maintenance costs.

Capacity embedded within TMS: ICT expertise, data digitisation, and TMS-led installation and technical support for all field infrastructure.

Investments aligned to Early Warnings for All 2027 and the Sendai Framework, anchoring continued national and partner support.

Sustainability

Planning for

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Decision Paper
Multi-phase community Starlink connectivity (Niuas → Ha'apai → Vava'u) is estimated at TOP 245,000, exceeding the LOA allocation of USD 70,000.

Phase 1 (Niuas, 10 kits) proceeds within the current allocation, with SPREP issuing the purchase order and managing subscriptions directly.

Request: the SC's decision on financing the Ha'apai and Vava'u phases with additional allocation or through redistribution of funds within the LOA.

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Open for Questions and Discussion

Q&A

Session

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Thank You

Malo ‘aupito

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