Climate early warning system

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) will lead a project with outreach targeting to protect systems Early warning to all inhabitants of the planet from attacks extreme events caused by climate change, With its help to adapt to this phenomenon.

business plan for Achieve this goal in five years It will be presented at the next United Nations climate conference to be held next November in Egypt. The initiative was launched on the occasion of World Meteorological DayThis year, it promotes early warning and action to reduce disaster risks.

Weather, climate and water extremes More and more frequent and severe In many parts of the world as a result of climate change. More than ever, people are exposed to increasingly severe multiple dangers from population growth, urbanization and environmental degradation.

Despite the importance of weather forecasts in saving lives and livelihoods, A third of the world’s population is still not included Through early warning systems, particularly in least developed countries and small island developing states. The unprotected rate in Africa is as high as 60% of its population.

‘It’s not acceptable’, early warning systems save lives

The Secretary General The United Nations has described this lack of access as “unacceptable” because climate impacts will continue to worsen.

António Guterres warned that man-made climate disruptions affect all regions, and noted that rising global temperatures will increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather events. “Must be Invest equally in adaptability and flexibility. This includes information that allows us to anticipate storms, heat waves, floods and droughts.”He said in his message on the occasion of World Meteorological Day announcing the initiative.

Guterres added it Everyone on this planet should benefit from expectations and increase work capacity. “Let us recognize the value of early warning and act as critical tools to reduce disaster risk and support adaptation to climate change. Early warning systems save lives. Let’s make sure it works for everyone.”select the leader of the United Nations.

daily disaster

In the same vein, the World Meteorological Organization stressed that Larger formatting is essential between national meteorological and hydrological services, disaster management authorities and development agencies to improve disaster prevention, preparedness and response.

In addition, to highlight the frequency of climatic phenomena, he noted that during the past 50 years there have been multiplied five times Weather, climate or water-related disasters, where a disaster occurs almost every day, killing 115 people and causing $202 million in losses.

However, despite these large numbers, the World Meteorological Organization explained that the amount of The number of lives has been reduced by almost three times During the same period thanks to better alerts and forecasts, as well as proactive and coordinated disaster management.

The specialized agency indicated that the epidemic showed that in today’s interconnected world, it is necessary to adopt a Multi-risk and cross-border To advance the global goals of climate action, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable development.

“Being prepared and able to act at the right time and in the right place can save many lives and Livelihood Protection from communities around the world, now and in the future.”said the World Meteorological Organization.

Invest now to save in the future

According to Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, this is necessary Investing about $1.5 billion over the next five years To improve the quality of services and infrastructure related to early warning systems, “particularly in the least developed countries and small island developing States”.

Data from the Global Commission on Adaptation indicates that early warning systems provide a return on investment of more than ten times and yet Warning for 24 hours only From an incoming storm or heat wave, damage can be reduced by 30%. They also assert that investing $800 million in such systems in developing countries It would avoid losses of between 3,000 and 16,000 million of dollars a year.

“The increasing number of disasters due to climate change threatens the implementation of a large number of Sustainable Development Goals. In addition to the very critical mitigation, it is increasingly important Investing in climate adaptation. One of the highest investment returns is achieved by improving weather, water and climate early warning services”Thalas confirmed.

What are early warning systems?

He explained that the early warning system for floods, droughts, heat waves or storms consists of: A series of integrated tools and resources It lets people know that dangerous weather is coming and teaches how governments, communities, and individuals can act to reduce impending impacts.

these systems Allows you to monitor the weather conditions in real time On land and at sea, effectively predict future weather and climate events using advanced computer numerical models. The purpose is to understand the risks that expected storms bring to the area that will be affected.

Early warning systems must Include agreed response plans for governments, communities and individuals to minimize expected impacts. A comprehensive early warning system must take into account lessons learned from past events to continually improve responses to weather, climate, water and related environmental hazards in the future.

source: United nations

Reference article: https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/03/1506022