Jamaica’s updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) has received approval from the Cabinet and has been uploaded to the NDC Registry of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Under the terms of the Paris Agreement, which Jamaica ratified in 2017, countries are expected to periodically prepare Nationally Determined Contributions, (NDCs), which symbolize the actions countries are taking to...

The Forestry Department will be embarking on the reforestation of 150 hectares of land and the maintenance of parcels comprising 588 hectares, during the 2020/21 financial year. This was announced by Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, Hon. Daryl Vaz, during his contribution to the 2020/21 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on...

Prime Minister Andrew Holness has made further changes to the ministerial arrangements in the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation. Minister without Portfolio, Hon. Daryl Vaz, will assume responsibility for the Water and Housing Portfolios and subject matters having to do with certain special economic development projects. Minister Vaz will be tasked with ensuring that water and housing projects...

The Saharan Air Layer, SAL (Dust plume) which has been affecting the island since yesterday (June 22), is expected to intensify over the next twenty-four hours. Acting Head of the Weather Branch, Meteorologist Rohan Brown said the country is currently experiencing a reduction in visibility. “In keeping with the forecast as of 10:00 a.m. today, (June 23) the horizontal visibility...

The leading edge of the Saharan Dust plume currently across the eastern Caribbean is expected to impact Jamaica, starting Monday (June 22). Satellite images from the past few days show the thick dust moving off the west coast of Africa, crawling across the Atlantic and eastern Caribbean on Sunday, and now moving into the Central Caribbean. The dust mass is...

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica (Met Office) is urging Jamaicans to prepare for higher-than-normal temperatures over the summer period, which begins on June 20 and ends September 22. Director of the Met Office, Evan Thompson, said that already, daytime temperatures have been above normal, with Montego Bay recording up to 34 degrees Celsius and Kingston 33.5 degrees in the month...

Long-term planning, infrastructural investments and individual responsibility are key to how we prepare for major disaster events, says Director of the Disaster Risk Reduction Centre (DRRC) at the University of the West Indies, Dr. Barbara Carby. Speaking at a virtual town hall meeting held by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development on May 28, Dr. Carby underscored the...

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry, says the nation requires the collective utilisation of resources at its disposal to overcome the challenges associated with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Speaking at the PIOJ’s digital quarterly media briefing on May 27, Dr. Henry said that Jamaica has entered a period of “significant challenges”, consequent on...

The Meteorological Service of Jamaica (Met Service) is reporting that it is ready to monitor and inform the country on weather systems that may develop in what is anticipated to be an above average Atlantic Hurricane Season. Director of the Met Service, Evan Thompson, said that the office is following the forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)...