Results for Natural events

A tropical cyclone alert is now in force for Niuatoputapu and Vava'u, as Tropical Cyclone Ula (Category 1) is currently moving south-southwest across the north of Tonga and expected to bring strong and gusty winds to the groups over the next two days. The Fua'amotu Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre issued the first alert for Tonga at 3:00pm today, Thursday 31 December 2015 and will continue to update their advisories this evening.

Tonga is currently experiencing strong El Nino conditions bringing cooler night time temperatures with the lowest recorded at 14.6°C for November, in Fua'amotu. However, the lowest temperature so far for the year was 12.0°C in August.

On its current track Tropical Cyclone Tuni is expected to lie 180km east of Niuatoputapu at 07:00pm this evening, the Fua'amotu Tropical Cyclone Warning Centre advised at 10:00am Sunday 29 November 2015. The next advisory will be issued at 1:00pm.

A strong wind warning remains in force for Tongatapu, 'Eua, Ha'apai and Vava'u land areas, while a gale warning remains in force for coastal waters, Tonga’s Fua'amotu Weather Forecasting Centre advised at 7:00pm this evening, Friday 20 November.

A white plume coming from the peak of Late Island this morning may be a rare sighting of volcanic activity - but the volcanic activity has yet to be confirmed by Tongan authorities. The last known eruption of the island was in 1854, and the last steam venting was seen in the 1970s. Photos by Nadya Zvyagina.

Tonga might expect two or three cyclones in the 2015-16 Cyclone Season, which started yesterday, November 1, continuing for at least six months until the end of April.

The first draft of the Paris Climate Change Agreement has left the Indian government and its negotiators upset because it ignored many submissions from developing countries. Countries will gather at Bonn from October 19-23 to negotiate further on this draft before the final Paris round of talks on 30 November for two-weeks.

Training for weather forecasters and staff of the National Emergency Office (NEMO) to improve lead-time and accurate severe weather warnings issued to the public is being held in Nuku’alofa this week.

Tsunamis pose a danger to Tonga's coastal communities and early warning of a severe tsunami event and appropriate response by the public, will be critical to saving lives. A one-week training workshop for first responders started on Monday, 24 August aims to improve the early warning system, procedures and response in Tonga.