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Can The MET Office Bridge The Social Media Gap?
posted (May 22, 2025)
And while at least two weather stations are now significantly upgraded - the National Meteorological Service operates in a highly competitive social media landscape - driven by information more than accuracy.

They have struggled to keep up with those offering weather forecasts on YouTube and other platforms. Gordon conceded it is a challenge:

Ronald Gordon, Chief Meteorologist
"It is a challenge. It is a humongous challenge, I would say. And it's not, like you said, it's not only us. I was at the recent hurricane committee meeting in El Salvador where we discussed these type of things. What you have sometimes is you refer to them as pseudo meteorologists, right? So these are some of the challenges that we have. And of course, I think one of the main thing is, like you said, people are hungry for information. I don't want to say they're bored, but the more sensational the story, the more hyped up it is. They get it, they share it. I think it goes out viral. And what we have to do a lot is counter that. And you rightly said, we have, we are limited in resources. We don't have a whole PR, We'd need a whole section dedicated to countering misinformation and also to ensure that we are we are on social media, like you said, we need to catch up and ensure that we have the information to so that we can, people can know. Well, you know what? I didn't see it on the Met Service Twitter page or X, or Facebook page. So I won't study it."

"We have a stake in it. So if you go to another source, people on YouTube, I'm not going to call anybody name. But that person does not have a stake. If he gives you a wrong forecast, he's not liable, right? You cannot go back to him and say, you know what? You messed up, man. You caused my family to get into a situation because he's not liable. But you could come back to us. And I know you will because the media will comeback to us. So that is the reason why we say, focus on your official source of information."

Henry Charles Usher, Minister of NEMO
"I think what is important is that, number one, as you rightly said, there seems to be a gap in the way information is distributed or disseminated to the public. So it's important to invest in that type of technology as well. Recently the MET department launched an app and that app is only available on Android for right now, but it will be available on other platforms very soon. That is only one way we are looking at it. Of course, the media plays an important role in the dissemination of the information. But I think what is also important is that the information that is being shared is information that the people feel that they can rely on, and that's why it's important to have the information as early as possible, as accurate as possible, so that we know, for example, if a hurricane is approaching, we do not have to evacuate the entire coastline. We know more or less where it will cross, what are the areas that will be affected. And we have enough of a warning for those persons to be able to evacuate or to go to shelter, or to shelter in place. But I think that is those are the two main areas, the timeliness of the information, the accuracy of the information and if you want to add a third, the information being disseminated in every form possible."

Through this program, the National Meteorological Service of Belize will benefit from grant funding totaling 1.5million Belize dollars through the IDB.

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