SINT MAARTEN — The International Panel on Deltas and Coastal Areas (IPDC), on behalf of its partner organisations, today announced the successful completion of data rescue and digitisation activities for the historical meteorological archives of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.
By preserving historical data, policy-advisors now have critical insights into long-term weather trends that contribute to more accurate climate projections for the islands. This achievement is the result of a unique collaboration between the national meteorological services of Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Netherlands.
Unlocking critical climate data
All historical records have been converted into digital images and, to a large extent, the data has been extracted into machine-readable formats. Through imaging, digitisation and secure storage, the project has preserved these records and made them accessible for analysis.
Meteorological archives contain invaluable information on historical weather patterns specific to local geographies. However, much of this information has traditionally been stored in paper records, making it difficult to access and use in modern analytical tools. In addition, these archives are vulnerable to risks such as fire and extreme weather events.
Strong partnership across the Kingdom
The IPDC worked closely with stakeholders across the Dutch Caribbean and the Netherlands to implement the project. Partners include the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten; Departamento Meteorológico Aruba (DMA); Meteorological Department Curaçao (MDC); Meteorological Department Sint Maarten (MDS); and the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI).
Local climate platforms, including the Aruba National Climate Resilience Council (NCRC), supported the project’s initiation. To facilitate coordination, the IPDC appointed an independent project manager. This initiative marks the first collaboration bringing together all national meteorological services within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Improved understanding and robust projections
The digitised data will contribute to improved understanding of current climate conditions and enhance early warning systems across the islands. It will also support the development of more robust climate projections beyond the scope of the IPDC programme.
Partners intend to use the expanded dataset to strengthen climate scenarios for the period 2050–2100 in future research efforts. Ultimately, this will support more effective climate adaptation planning in Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten.
Digitisation of the former Netherlands Antilles archive
In addition to digitising locally held data, the Government of Curaçao and the Meteorological Department of Curaçao made available the meteorological archive of the former Netherlands Antilles, located in Curaçao.
Following legal review and the establishment of intellectual property agreements, access was granted to approximately 70,000 pages of historical meteorological records. These records, in some cases dating back to 1880, have now been digitised and shared with Aruba, Sint Maarten, and also the Caribbean Netherlands (BES islands).
For Aruba and Bonaire, this data has been critical in filling gaps in their 30-year climate normal reference period (1991–2020), enabling more accurate assessments of current temperature trends relative to their historical baseline.
Dr. Albert Martis, Head of Meteorological Department Curaçao said: “We are more than pleased to assist our sister islands Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba to strengthen their future climate projections through historical data from the former Netherlands Antilles archive. This is the reason that since 10-10-10 we have conserved and taken care of this archive, in anticipation of the day that has now come”.
The Government of Aruba, the Government of Sint Maarten, Departamento Meteorlogico Aruba (DMA), Meteorological Department Sint Maarten (MDS), and KNMI expressed their sincere gratitude to the Government of Curaçao, the Meteorological Department of Curaçao, and IPDC for their cooperation in enabling the return of historical data to the islands.
More information is available at the IPDC website:
