Mauritius’s national met service has validated its strategic plan for the next five years, outlining its priorities to strengthen weather, climate, ocean and multi-hazard early warning systems.
The Mauritius Meteorological Services (MMS) Strategic Plan 2027-2031 and its accompanying Operational Plan provide a framework for strengthening the country’s meteorological services and translating strategic priorities into activities, investments and measurable results.
Both plans were developed with support from the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) South-West Indian Ocean (SWIO) and Technical Assistance to the Indian Ocean Commission (TA IOC) projects, with the World Meteorological Organization providing technical support and coordination.
According to MMS, the Strategic Plan provides a roadmap for transforming it into a “modern, digitally enabled and future-ready institution capable of delivering high-quality weather, climate, ocean and hydrological services that protect lives, support economic development and strengthen national resilience.”
The Strategic Plan aligns with the Government Programme 2025-2029, Mauritius Vision 2030, the Global Framework for Climate Services and the United Nations’ Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative. It recognizes that meteorological services are no longer limited to forecasting the weather but are essential providers of risk and resilience intelligence that support disaster risk reduction, climate adaptation, aviation and maritime safety, agriculture, tourism, water management, energy planning and public health.
A central pillar of the Strategic Plan is the strengthening of the National Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (MHEWS). It supports an end-to-end approach encompassing risk knowledge, observations, forecasting, warning dissemination, preparedness and last-mile communication. Planned measures aim to ensure universal access to timely, accurate and impact-based warnings, while expanding the use of digital technologies and Common Alerting Protocol (CAP)-compatible dissemination systems to reach communities quickly and effectively.
The strategy will further strengthen coordination with disaster management institutions, emergency responders and other national stakeholders to ensure that warnings are translated into timely action and preparedness measures.
Beyond early warning systems, the Strategic Plan outlines ambitious measures to modernize meteorological infrastructure and forecasting capabilities. These include strengthening the national observation network, upgrading automatic weather stations, radar and satellite systems, improving forecasting technologies, enhancing marine and aviation meteorological services, and expanding hydrometeorological forecasting capabilities. Together, these investments will improve forecast accuracy, increase warning lead times and support more effective decision-making across weather-sensitive sectors of the economy.
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