Australia will provide $3 million to Pacific island countries in a bid to help them improve their understanding of extreme weather events.          
                                                                           
The program will be run by Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) and will involve upgrading computer software and modelling to allow Pacific island countries to better plan for extreme weather events and climate change.                                                                   
                                                                           
Parliamentary secretary for foreign affairs Greg Hunt says it will improve the reliability of climate prediction. "The better weather information and the more self sufficiency our Pacific island neighbours have, the better [chance] they can give themselves in the short-term future and long-term future in terms of independence," he said.                                
                                                                           
Ten Pacific islands will be part of the program including Kiribati, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.  The money will be spent over three years.                                                              
                                                                       
Source:  ABC Online