MetSoc 2025 Conference wrap-up

Kia ora koutou,

I hope this finds you well. We have had very unsettled weather this summer and I am very sorry if any members have been adversely affected by the weather events we have had this month.

Our joint conference with the Hydrological Society in Kirikiriroa | Hamilton in early December last year was a success, with 230 attendees in total - 73 of those from our own Society. There were three keynote speakers, 141 oral presentations, 8 lightning talks and 23 posters. I would like to thank Dr Jen Purdie again for her keynote talk on “applying climate knowledge in the energy industry to tackle climate and water challenges”, which was packed with interesting facts and numbers and an excellent overview of the topic. The field trips were a highlight for those who could attend, with the Waikato region offering a range of diverse activities and sights to see. Overall, the conference made a slight financial loss, largely due to the sponsorship target not being quite met, as well as slightly lower than expected attendance numbers. To that end, I would like to thank the organisations (https://www.nzhsmsnzconference.co.nz) who did sponsor the conference once again – without your commitment we would not have been able to offer the services we did.

Importantly, at the conference we hold our Annual General Meeting. A highlight this year was our award ceremony at the beginning of the meeting. I would like to congratulate the recipients of our two new awards, Chris Webster, who received the Operational Excellence in Meteorology and Climatology Award and Neelesh Rampal, who received the Early Career Scientist Award. We also awarded John Crouch Honorary Membership, which is the highest recognition bestowed by the Society, to honour his outstanding contribution to meteorology, climatology or atmospheric science. John is one of New Zealand’s most respected operational meteorologists, with his career spanning more than forty years. Further details about these awards are in the minutes of the AGM and in this newsletter. Once again, my sincere congratulations to Chris, Neelesh and John.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the committee members of our Society who continue to do a range of important tasks that support our organisation. In particular, I want to thank Sylvia Nichol who is stepping down, who has overseen our newsletter for some time. Fortunately, she has delayed her retirement to oversee and support the production of the last newsletter – we could not have done it without you. Also, a special thank you to Gregor Macara, our treasurer, who continues to oversee our finances despite currently being on parental leave looking after his lovely daughter, Alba.

I strongly encourage members of our Society to consider publishing their research in our journal, Weather and Climate, in 2026. Our scientific editors - Ciaran Doolan and Silvia Martino – are doing a fantastic job and I strongly recommend it as an option for publishing your work in an efficient and user-friendly way. The journal has a great legacy and has been responsible for publishing benchmark papers on weather and climate research in New Zealand – make sure your work is one of the next ones!

As I mentioned this time last year, please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any news that might be of interest for members of our Society. We warmly welcome any exciting updates that we could include in our future newsletters.

Lastly, we have locked in some dates for our own conference at the end of the year. It will be hosted at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington on 25-27 November 2026. Pencil those dates in and stay tuned for further conference updates.

Ngā mihi nui,
Nicolas - President

AWARDS

Operational Excellence in Meteorology and Climatology: Chris Webster

Early Career Scientist: Neelesh Rampal

Honorary Membership: John Crouch