Fiji recorded a sea-level rise of 90-120 millimetres in the last 30 years in a period between 1992 and 2022, stated the Fiji Meteorological Service in its 2022 annual climate summary report released last week.
The report stated the sea-level rise near Fiji measured by satellite altimeters from 1992 to 2022 was between three and four millimetres per year.
“A state of the art sea level monitoring station at the Lautoka Wharf had a relative sea level trend of 4.3mm/year between 1993 to 2022, which is a statistically significant increasing trend at 95 per cent confidence level,” Fiji Met stated.
“The global mean sea level rise is of 3.4mm/year since 1993.”
Fiji Met stated there are three tide gauge stations available in the country.
“The first is available at the Lautoka Wharf (Western Division), second is located at the Suva Wharf (Central Division), while the final one was installed at Vatia Wharf.
“The first two stations belong to the Pacific Sea Level and Geodetic Monitoring Project (PSLGMP), while the third station belongs to the Fiji Met Service.”
The report stated that from 2015 to 2022, Fiji experienced 11 major natural hazards. These natural hazards resulted in ore than 70 fatalities, all of which were associated with storms. Fiji’s national average rainfall for 2022 was 2759mm, which was 122 per cent of the long-term average.
“Fiji’s rainfall continue to display large year-to-year variability associated with the El Nino and La Nina events.”
