Barbados is now home to the first Regional Climate Centre (RCC) in the western hemisphere.
The centre, which is housed at the Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) in Husbands, St James, was financed to the tune of US$5 million by the United States Agency for International Development.
United States Ambassador to Barbados and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States Linda Taglialatela noted the importance of having such a centre in the region.
“In the past two decades, the Caribbean has experienced several natural phenomena, including floods, droughts, and hurricanes, which can threaten economic growth. Also, the region presently accounts for seven of the world’s top 30 water-scarce countries, and Barbados is in the top ten of that list,” she said.