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The Coral bleaching Outlook to 24 September shows patches of area of 'Alert Level 1 and 2' over Kiribati (central Gilbert, northern Phoenix and northern Line Islands).

This report provides a brief review of the dataset and methodology used to create projection information for extreme rainfall and windspeed as well ass tropical cyclone intensity for various location in Vanuatu.

The year 2022 was still a warm year for the region, despite temporary cooling associated with the La Nina event. The moderate La Nina event contributed to significant rainfall anomalies, namely particularly dry conditions in much of the equatorial Pacific, including Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, Tokelau (some locations received totals more than 80% below long-term average) and wet conditions over the maritime continent and eastern Australia

Early action on adaptation and mitigation will be beneficial in both the near and long term, reducing climate risks for humans and ecosystems. Adaptation actions will benefit Pacific islanders through reduced vulnerability but cannot prevent all losses and damages.

Global warming will increase in the near term, with estimates of reaching 1.5° C in the early 2030s. Pacific island countries and territories (PICTs) have continually advocated to limit warming to below 1.5°C as the climate impacts beyond this level are particularly severe for Pacific islanders.

The scientific evidence is clear: Climate change is a threat to human well-being and planetary health. There is a rapidly closing window for action to secure a liveable and sustainable future for all. We collectively have sufficient knowledge, tools and global capital available to address the challenges. The choices and actions we take now will have impacts for thousands of years.

The 3-month rainfall status for April to June 2023 was Very Dry or Seriously Dry stretching eastwards from eastern Solomon Islands, through Tuvalu, northern Fiji, Kiribati (southern halves of central and eastern), northern Wallis and Futuna, Tokelau, patches in Samoa and American Samoa, northern Cook Islands, and northern French Polynesia. In addition, a area of Very Dry and Seriously Dry lay over the Coral Sea, western New Caledonia and southeast towards Norfork Island.

While world leaders met in Egypt in 2022 for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) Conference of the parties (COP 27) and danced around the need for critical global action on climate change, ni-Vanuatu (Vanuatu citizens) were dealing with its realities. Continuing sea level rises, more intense and frequent cyclones, flooding and landslides are regular occurrences in Vanuatu.

The inception report is developed with the ultimate purpose of acting as a roadmap/guide for the development of the data management and governance policy. It constitutes and details the main methodological approaches that will be employed to achieve the scope of the assignments and it deliverables.

This report has been prepared by Work Integrated Learning (WIL) students Madeleine Howle, Lucy Burt and Alex Graham from the University of Newcastle's centre for Law and Social Justice in partnership with SPREP.