A Climate Services Dialog to Build Sector-Based Climate Early Warning Systems in the Republic of Palau Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

Communities throughout the Pacific Islands region are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate variability and change and have therefore become leaders in climate research, advocacy, and adaptation (Parks and Roberts 2006; Farbotko and McGregor 2010; Majuro Declaration 2014; Pacific Islands Development Forum 2015; Frazier et al. 2023). Through the ongoing Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) process (Keener et al. 2022), researchers and practitioners have collaboratively identified a range of climate change impacts on communities and ecosystems in the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) region, which includes the Territories of Guam and American Sāmoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Freely Associated States: the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (Keener et al. 2012; Grecni et al. 2020; Miles et al. 2020; Grecni et al. 2021; Keener et al. 2021; Grecni et al. 2023). The assessments have also identified gaps in sector-specific climate information relevant for each location, as well as decision-making or planning horizons. To properly plan for and build resilience against future climate impacts, decision-makers need integrated climate services and information that are easy to access and that seamlessly cover both short-term (subseasonal) and longer-term (seasonal to interannual) projections (Scott et al. 2011).