Innovative Public-Private-Academic Collaboration for Climate Resilience: The Deployment of a Sustainable Weather Radar in Tonga

The escalating challenges posed by climate change necessitate the advancement of meteorological services to enhance early warning systems and climate research. This presentation showcases a groundbreaking initiative undertaken by Meteopress in collaboration with Metservice New Zealand and the Tongan Met service, aimed at deploying a state-of-the-art, sustainable weather radar in Tonga. This project epitomizes the synergy between public, private, and academic sectors in leveraging technology for climate resilience and compliance with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) regulations.

The newly installed radar system is pivotal for the Tongan Met service, offering enhanced capabilities for early warning and accurate weather forecasting. Unlike conventional systems, this radar does not merely supply processed data; it also provides open access to raw data for researchers, thereby fostering scientific investigation and innovation. The radar's construction embraces open-source principles, with software written in Python and C, which facilitates ongoing development, upgrades, and scientific exploration.

This initiative aligns with the session's theme of Public-Academic-Private Collaboration to Support Climate Neutrality Goals by showcasing a successful model of collaboration that merges technological innovation with environmental stewardship. It demonstrates how open-source technology can serve as a foundation for sustainable development and how public-private-academic partnerships can play a crucial role in advancing climate neutrality objectives.

The project sets a precedent for future endeavors in the meteorological community, highlighting the importance of data sharing, technological innovation, and collaborative efforts in tackling the multifaceted challenges of climate change. Through this deployment, the partnership has not only contributed to the immediate enhancement of Tonga's meteorological services but also to the broader goal of building a climate-resilient society.