Historic weather records digitised for St. Maarten and Dutch Caribbean

GREAT BAY--The International Panel on Deltas and Coastal Areas (IPDC), on behalf of its partner organisations, has announced the successful completion of data rescue and digitisation activities involving the historical meteorological archives of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.

The initiative preserves decades of historical weather information and provides policy advisers, meteorological services and researchers with data that can help identify long-term weather trends and contribute to more accurate climate projections for the islands.

The project was carried out through collaboration among the national meteorological services of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten and the Netherlands.

Historical meteorological records have now been converted into digital images and, to a large extent, the information has also been extracted into machine-readable formats.

Through imaging, digitisation and secure storage, the project has preserved the records while making them more accessible for analysis and future research.

Meteorological archives contain important information about historical weather patterns specific to individual islands and local areas. Much of this information, however, has traditionally been stored on paper, making it difficult to access and incorporate into modern analytical systems.

Physical archives are also vulnerable to loss or damage from fire, hurricanes and other extreme events. Digitisation therefore provides both greater accessibility and long-term protection of the historical record.

The IPDC worked with stakeholders throughout the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands to carry out the project.

Partners included the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten, Departamento Meteorológico Aruba, the Meteorological Department Curaçao, the Meteorological Department St. Maarten and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, KNMI.

Local climate platforms, including Aruba’s National Climate Resilience Council, also supported the start of the project. An independent project manager was appointed by the IPDC to assist with coordination.

According to the organisations involved, the initiative represents the first collaboration bringing together all national meteorological services within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

The digitised information is expected to improve understanding of current climate conditions while also contributing to stronger early warning systems across the islands.

The expanded historical dataset can also support future research aimed at developing more robust climate scenarios for the period from 2050 to 2100.

Such projections are expected to assist Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten as they continue developing climate adaptation policies and preparing for the long-term effects of climate change.

An important part of the project involved the meteorological archive of the former Netherlands Antilles, which is located in Curaçao.

The Government of Curaçao and the Meteorological Department Curaçao made the archive available for the digitisation initiative.

Following legal review and the establishment of intellectual property agreements, access was granted to approximately 70,000 pages of historical meteorological records.

Some of the records date as far back as 1880.

The material has now been digitised and shared with Aruba, St. Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands islands of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.

For Aruba and Bonaire in particular, the historical information has helped fill gaps in their 30-year climate normal reference period covering 1991 to 2020. This allows for more accurate assessments of current temperature trends when compared with historical conditions.

Dr. Albert Martis, Head of the Meteorological Department Curaçao, said:

“We are more than pleased to assist our sister islands Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba to strengthen their future climate projections through historical data from the former Netherlands Antilles archive. This is the reason that since 10-10-10 we have conserved and taken care of this archive, in anticipation of the day that has now come.”

The governments of Aruba and St. Maarten, Departamento Meteorológico Aruba, the Meteorological Department St. Maarten and KNMI expressed their gratitude to the Government of Curaçao, the Meteorological Department Curaçao and the IPDC for their cooperation in making the historical information available to the islands.

The International Panel on Deltas and Coastal Areas is a network of countries and financial institutions working on climate adaptation challenges.

The organisation facilitates the exchange of information, joint learning and the development of solutions and action plans related to climate adaptation, projects and good practices.

The IPDC is a Dutch government-led initiative facilitated by Deltares and Climate Adaptation Services.

The Dutch Caribbean islands have been members of the IPDC since its official launch during the United Nations 2023 Water Conference.

IPDC support for the Dutch Caribbean focuses on assisting the islands with the development of climate adaptation plans and strategies. Its priorities include targeted support aimed at addressing gaps in climate planning across the islands.

More information about the project is available through the IPDC website.

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