Early Warning for All: WMO unveils $3.1 bn Plan

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has put forward a plan to develop a global early warning system for extreme weather events intensified by climate change. The initial investment for delivering early warning systems for all by 2027 will be nearly $3.1 billion, WMO said November 7, 2022. It is equivalent to a comparatively modest 50 cents per person per year.

The WMO released the Executive Action Plan of Early Warnings for All during a roundtable meeting at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

We must invest equally in adaptation and resilience, which includes the information that allows us to anticipate storms, heatwaves, floods and droughts, said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

“I have called for every person on Earth to be protected by early warning systems within five years, with the priority to support the most vulnerable first,” Guterres added.

Early warning systems have still not reached 33 per cent of the global population, mainly in the least developed countries and small island developing states. Some 60 per cent of people in Africa lack coverage of the same.

“Early warnings save lives and provide vast economic benefits. Just 24 hours notice of an impending hazardous event can cut ensuing damage by 30 per cent,” said Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of WMO, during the TD2 of the Water Pavilion