State of the Climate in South-West Pacific 2025 - Cook Islands

State of the Climate in South-West Pacific 2025 - Cook Islands highlights accelerating ocean warming, acidification and sea-level rise risks for the South-West Pacific region. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) report, released on 7 July 2026, says 2025 was the second-warmest year on record for the region, behind 2024. It links marine heatwaves to ecosystem and fisheries disruption, while coastal exposure increases for low-lying island nations. WMO also cites extreme impacts from Cyclone Senyar, the first known system to reach tropical cyclone intensity in the Strait of Malacca, which affected more than 10 million people in Indonesia and Malaysia and killed more than 1,200. The report estimates remaining tropical ice in Papua at about 2% of the 1988 observed area, with the last glacier expected to disappear by late 2026 or early 2027. The WMO notes coordination and capacity gaps despite the lifesaving value of early warnings, released during a Singapore workshop (7–10 July) organized with ASEAN’s ASMC.