Mr. Smithersasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he proposes to implement the recommendations of the ninth meeting of the Caribbean Commission with regard to the hurricane warning system, and in particular whether he is installing a meteorological station in Antigua; and whether he is taking steps to provide upper air data from the Leeward and Windward Islands as recommended by the Commission.
§ Mr. J. GriffithsThe recommendations were made in the report of a special meeting of meteorologists from the Caribbean region held in Barbados in August, 1949. The ninth meeting of the Caribbean Commission referred them to the International Meteorological Organisation, which described the problem as the existence of a gap in the meteorological reporting network in the Leeward and Windward Islands, and the need for upper166W air observations south of Puerto Rico, preferably from Barbados. The preference for a Barbados site was reaffirmed at the Caribbean Regional Meeting of the International Civil Aviation Organisation which was held in Havana in April, 1950.
Since the war the direction of the British West Indies Meteorological Service has rested with the Meteorological Office, Air Ministry. The extent of the direct United Kingdom interests in the area no longer justifies the continuance of this responsibility, so that no expansion of the service under its present direction can be effected to fill the gaps. Arrangements are therefore under discussion with the Colonial Governments concerned for the transfer to them of responsibility for the service, and I am in communication with those Governments as to the extent of the facilities to be provided. The proposals now under discussion include the provision of a reporting station at Antigua, and it is hoped that it will in due course be possible to provide an upper air reporting station in Barbados.