17-20 February 2025 | Fifty-Seventh Session of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee
DOST-PAGASA hosts the Annual Session of the ESCAP WMO Typhoon Committee for 2025
The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PAGASA), hosts the Fifty Seventh Session of the ESCAP WMO Typhoon Committee. This session is being convened by the Typhoon Committee (TC), an intergovernmental organization under the auspices of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Dubbed as the TC57, this annual event is being held at the Hilton Manila Hotel in Pasay City with the Philippines as the host country for this year’s session. Attending this event are the Permanent Representatives with WMO or their respective designate from member states and territories, key officials of the WMO, ESCAP and various National Meteorological & Hydrologic Services (NMHSs) as well as relevant agencies involved in the working groups on Meteorology, Hydrology, Disaster Risk Reduction & Management (DRRM), scientific research, academe, training and those taking part in the activities, programs and projects of the TC. Among the highlights of the TC57 include the Opening ceremonies with dignitaries and key officials, technical presentations of experts and known figures from the scientific community in the Asia-Pacific Region, as well as the plenary session of the TC members covering the review, planning and decision-making of various matters concerning the committee for this year and beyond, together with the support required for implementation and resource mobilization.
Present at the opening ceremonies on the first day of the event are notable figures in the scientific and DRRM community such as the key officials of the WMO, ESCAP and the Typhoon Committee as well as the Director-General of the Malaysian Meteorological Department being the Chair of the previous TC session, and the Administrator of DOST-PAGASA. Also gracing the event with their presence are the Honorable Mayor of Pasay City and the Secretary of the Department of Science & Technology. In their welcoming remarks, Mayor Imelda Calixtro Rubiano of Pasay City as delivered by the City Administrator and Officer-In-Charge of the Disaster Risk Reduction & Managent Office of Pasay City as well as DOST-PAGASA Administrator Dr. Nathaniel Servando both expressed their delight for holding this event in Metro Manila. Dr. Servando adds that the last TC session was held in the country 19 years ago on December 2006 for the TC39. And in his opening address, DOST Secretary Renato U. Solidum, Jr. underscores the timeliness of this undertaking and that efforts should become increasingly more collaborative and multi-faceted to cope with weather-related issues. “This session of the Typhoon Committee is is a crucial platform for us to reaffirm our commitment to turning policies into concrete actionable solutions. As weather-related extremes become increasingly become more complex and unpredictable – exacerbated by climate change and phenomena like El Nino and La Nina – our collective efforts must become more collaborative and multi-faceted.”, said by the Secretary.
The event also serves as an avenue to foster the cooperation and camaraderie among the member states and territories, and to boost the linkages and collaboration between partner Meteorological and Hydrological Service agencies and organizations concerning various initiatives involving TC research, capacity building, data exchanges and others. At the same thing, it also serves as an opportunity for the Philippines, as represented by the DOST-PAGASA to showcase the technologies, expertise, and best practices of the country in dealing with tropical cyclones and the associated extreme weather events.
Likewise, the Typhoon Committee Secretariat confers DOST-PAGASA as the recipient for this year’s Dr. Roman L. Kintanar Awards following the majority vote of the members of its Awards and Selection Group. This is in recognition of the agency’s contribution in empowering its constituents with disaster preparedness through improved tropical cyclone forecasts and warning services, and other innovations in localized services especially during the series of tropical cyclones and extreme weather events that affected the Philippines last year. the plaque of recognition during the awarding ceremony was received by DOST Secretary Renato Solidum Jr. and PAGASA Administrator Nathaniel Servando, also at the opening ceremonies on the first day of the TC57. The award pays home to Dr. Kintanar who became instrumental in the founding of the Typhoon Committee and served with distinction as Pacific/WMO Coordinator and as the Secretary of the Typhoon Committee for several decades from its establishment in 1964. He became PAGASA Director from 1958 to 1994, the youngest ever at just the age of 29 and the longest in tenure at 38 years who also served as Permanent Representative of the Philippines with WMO for almost four decades. Dr. Kintanar was also appointed Vice President of WMO Regional Association V (South-West Pacific) from 1962 to 1966 before becoming the WMO President from 1979 to 1983. He also became a member of the Executive Council for 22 years and Chairman of the Executive Council Panel of Experts on Education and Training for 16 years (1979 to 1995). Among Dr. Kintanar’s numerous achievements and enduring legacy include his scientific works in the fields of meteorology, climate change and disaster preparedness.
For more information, please visit the ESCAP WMO Typhoon Committee webpage for this event at https://www.typhooncommittee.org/57th/index.html. And for further queries, please contact the Public Information Unit of DOST-PAGASA at Tel. no. 8284-0800 local 1100/1101 or thru email addresses information@pagasa.dost.gov.ph and tc57loc.manila@pagasa.dost.gov.ph.
57th Session of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee 17-20 February 2025 Manila, Philippines
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