New Zealand’s government has approved the acquisition of the country’s national weather authority MetService by NIWA, New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research.
Government announcement
Simeon Brown, New Zealand’s minister for health and state owned enterprises, and Shane Reti, New Zealand’s science, innovation and technology minister, jointly announced that the country’s cabinet has agreed to proceed with the acquisition. According to the representatives, both organizations are pleased to be able to start work on combining their capabilities to improve climate and weather forecasting services for New Zealand.
Propelling weather services
Paula Jackson, chair of MetService, said, “Our combined capabilities are vital to support New Zealand’s resilience given the increasing impacts of climate change. It will enable us to better connect climate and weather research and weather forecasting and warning services.”
Barry Harris, chairman of NIWA, added, “The addition of MetService to the planned merger of NIWA and GNS will result in a combined organization with the scale, capability and international collaborations to enhance economic resilience and benefit from New Zealand’s natural resources. The new organization will also significantly advance our understanding of climate, weather and geological hazards, allowing our nation to better prepare for and respond to them.”
In related news, NIWA has began using machine learning (ML) to forecast flood inundation in a fraction of the time required to run physical models. Click here to read the full story.