The unusual ways Fijians predict when a cyclone is approaching

In 2024, the Fijian Meteorological Service announced it would integrate traditional environmental knowledge into its scientific forecasting – describing the pair as "a total package".

Fiji follows in the footsteps of Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Niue and the Solomon Islands – Pacific nations participating in an ongoing project to integrate traditional knowledge in their early-warning systems.

Siosinamele Lui, the climate traditional knowledge officer at Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), an intergovernmental body, says natural indicators are key to helping remote communities can prepare for weather events.

"In most parts of the world, traditional knowledge and national services are not mentioned in the same sentence," says Lui. "But in the Pacific, it's now becoming the go to. It's normal practice."

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