The director of the Fiji Met Service says the cyclone season highlights the Pacific's difficulties in retaining experienced meteorologists.
Four cyclones swept through French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, American Samoa and Tonga during the first two weeks of February, wrecking crops and forcing hundreds of people from their homes.
The cyclone season runs from November to April, with nine in a typical period.
Rajendra Prasad says the loss of experienced staff to developed countries is affecting the capability of the region's meteorological services.
"Because generally the meteorologists that we use are less than five years' experience so they have got the new technology etc, matter of doing things, but they don't have the local knowledge, experience to handle a tropical cyclone, for example, if the models are not doing too well."
