The Fiji Council of Social Services (FCOSS) is urging the Government to ensure the upcoming National Budget provides adequate support for vulnerable communities as concerns grow over the potential impacts of an El Niño weather event later this year.
Speaking ahead of the National Budget announcement on June 26, FCOSS Executive Director Vani Catanasiga says the organisation had received information through its civil society network indicating that communities could begin experiencing the effects of a possible Super El Niño from next month.
Catanasiga says the anticipated weather event should be taken into consideration when finalising the budget, particularly for programmes supporting those most vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks.
Insert: Catanasiga - Support for elders El Nino June 13
Catanasiga says FCOSS does not expect any reductions in welfare assistance, education support, services for older persons or programmes for people living with disabilities.
Instead, she says support for elderly citizens and people living with disabilities should be increased to help communities better cope with any challenges that may arise.
Meanwhle, the Fiji Meteorological Service is monitoring conditions in the tropical Pacific, with international climate centres indicating that El Niño is likely to develop in the coming months and could persist towards the end of the year.
However, Fiji Met has cautioned that it is still too early to determine whether the event will become a severe El Niño or whether its impacts on Fiji will be as significant as some reports have suggested.
The weather office says El Niño events are generally associated with normal to below-normal rainfall, warmer temperatures, prolonged dry spells and increased pressure on water resources, particularly in the drier regions of the country.
At the same time, Fiji Met notes that local weather systems can still bring periods of heavy rain, thunderstorms and flooding during El Niño conditions.
The agency is encouraging communities, businesses and government agencies to use the current forecasts as an opportunity for early planning, particularly in areas such as water management, agriculture, heat preparedness and contingency planning.
Fiji Met stressed that while people should remain prepared for possible changes in weather patterns, there is no need for alarm at this stage.
