WMO: Early warning systems reach new heights but critical gaps remain
By the Climate Centre
The number of countries with multi-hazard early warning systems has reached a record high of 119 and the capabilities of these systems has improved by 45 per cent across all regions, according to a report from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Meteorological Organization issued at COP 30 in Belem earlier today.
This represents more than a doubling of the countries with early warning in places (an increase of 113 per cent), but gaps in coverage persist – especially among small island states of which only 43 per cent have systems.
The Global Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems 2025 report provides a snapshot of progress with the UN initiative that aims to protect every person on Earth with early warning by 2027 and is partnered by the IFRC.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said: “On a daily basis, we see destructive weather – most recently in Jamaica, the Philippines and Viet Nam. Each event leaves lasting impacts on communities, economies and ecosystems.
“The scars remain long after the headlines. Without advance forecasts, early warnings and early action, the loss of life would have been much, much higher.”
Extreme heat, wildfires, glacial lake outbursts
In advance of the report’s release yesterday the IFRC said on social media, “The evidence is clear: when people receive timely warnings and know how to act, lives are saved.“
The new report also places special focus on emerging hazards that are intensifying, including extreme heat, wildfires, and glacial lake outbursts, which pose new threats that many existing warning systems are not equipped to handle.
It coincides with the launch of a new governance framework and toolkit to help authorities strengthen decision-making and coordination to address extreme heat. Developed by UNDRR, WMO, and the Global Heat Health Information Network (GHHIN) and others, this responds recent UN calls for stepped up action on extreme heat. (The Climate Centre’s Director Programmes, Julie Arrighi, who is in Belem, sits on the GHHIN management committee.)
On the first day of the COP meeting Monday, the IFRC hosted a Beat the Heat Together event, centred on a three-part approach to beating the “silent killer” of extreme heat: protecting lives and strengthening human resilience, building resilient cities and urban systems, and promoting powerful coalition with its global network.
By 2030, the IFRC aims to protect 100 million people across 100 cities, with a target of mobilizing CHF 500m Swiss francs to address extreme heat where it hits hardest; the heat hazard is also prominent among the IFRC’s key messages at COP 30.
A young Nepalese boy cools off in a heatwave. Extreme heat is one of the intensifying climate-related hazards that a new edition of a UN report on progress with early warning systems worldwide focuses on. (Photo: Nepal Red Cross via IFRC)