UN unveils global ‘early warning’ system for disasters costing $ 1.3 billion
Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt (AFP):
The United Nations has unveiled a five-year plan to build a global early warning system for deadly extreme weather events amplified by climate change.
The price tag — a relatively modest $3.1 billion– is a small price to pay for proven methods that can save millions of lives, UN chief Antonio Guterres said at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.
“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,” he said.
According to the UN, countries with inadequate infrastructure experience on average eight times greater mortality from disasters than countries with measures in place.
Proper early warning systems for floods, droughts, heatwaves, cyclones or other disasters allow for planning that minimizes adverse impacts.
While the number of people affected by disasters has nearly doubled over the last two decades, yet the number of people killed or missing has fallen by half.
When Cyclone Bhola hit Bangladesh (‘East Pakistan’ at the time) in 1970, it claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. This led to the new Bangladesh government to invest the very next year in weather forecasting technology, shelters and a network of volunteers along the coast.
A similarly strong Cyclone Amphan in 2020 in the same area only left a death toll of just 26.
“Early warnings save lives and provide vast economic benefits,” World Meteorological Organization chief Petteri Taalas said in a statement.
“Just 24 hours notice of an impending hazardous event can cut the ensuing damage by 30 percent.”
The Global Commission on Adaptation found that spending just $800 million on such systems in developing countries would avoid losses of $3 billion to $16 billion per year.
Starting with science-based observation networks and forecasting technology, a complete early warning infrastructure also requires national and community-based response capabilities, alongwith ways to rapidly communicate information to a population.
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