Methodology

Purpose

Pacifica Statistica publishes one reading a day. A reading comprises a figure, its unit, its area, its nature, its source, its method and an observation.

It comprises neither forecast nor recommendation.

Publication

The reading is published at midnight, Tahiti time (UTC-10). It is neither brought forward nor delayed. Public holidays are not taken into account.

A published reading stays at its address. It is not replaced by the next one.

Current conditions

The home page carries a board of current conditions: one station per territory, the earthquakes and cyclones of the day, exchange rates. They are not readings: they are neither numbered, nor archived, nor commented on.

The values are read at publication from Open-Meteo, the USGS, GDACS and Frankfurter, then read again by the reader's browser when the board comes near the screen. The browser then queries these services directly. No other page sends a request to a third party.

Nature of readings

Observed data: the value is read at the source and reproduced without processing. The source is named and linked.

Derived data: the value is derived from a source or from an exact calculation. The calculation is described in the method of the reading.

Composite index: the value combines several series. Their list and weighting are described.

Cross-reading: two real values, each read at its source, are set against each other although nothing connects them. The quotient is exact. The office knows of no use for it.

Experimental index: the value is produced by the office. It relies on no public source and describes no identifiable institution or person. It is presented with the same method as the others, and flagged as such on every page.

Annual fixtures

Some readings return every year on the same date: international days, clock changes, equinoxes. They carry the label Annual fixture.

The office makes no attempt to avoid them.

Confidence

High: the value is measured or calculated exactly. Medium: the value comes from a model, a grid point, or reference years that differ between territories. Low: the value relies on an internal sample.

Observations

The observation attached to a reading describes the figure. It does not explain it.

Corrections

An erroneous reading is corrected on its page, with the date of the correction. Number of corrections published to date: 0.