UN wants warning systems around the world to alleviate climate catastrophes

UN presents plan to finance early warning system for climate disasters

The United Nations (UN) revealed this Monday (7) an action plan worth more than 3 billion dollars so that, within five years, the entire world population is protected by an early warning system for meteorological disasters. .

“We’ve shown that when you invest in these services, you get at least ten times your money back,” said Petteri Taalas, director of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), who promeyours at the Water Conference to accelerate the start of this project, starting with water-related disasters. These services are present in only “half” of the countries in the world.

Floods and droughts represent 75% of climate catastrophes, which will multiply due to global warming.

The principle of warning systems It seems simple: risk assessment based on systematic data collection, detection thanks to weather forecast models, prior preparation of the population and prevention of danger so that they adapt their behavior.

According to experts, this method works. Despite “unprecedented flooding” caused by the recent Cyclone Freddy in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar, “adequate early warnings combined with on-the-ground disaster management allowed the number of casualties to be limited,” Taalas said.

The fury of Cyclone Freddy: more than 240 dead in Malawi and Mozambique

Malawian authorities are racing against time to rescue survivors of the cyclone that devastated the region, after leaving a trail of death and destruction also in Mozambique. Freddy left southern Africa at the end of February and returned at the beginning of March, causing 21 deaths in Mozambique and at least 245 in Malawi so far. In the latter, there are 41 missing and around 700 injured.

But each stage and each potential catastrophe presents its own challenges.

Climatologists highlight the difficulty of creating reliable climate models in many parts of the planet where meteorological data is scarce or even non-existent. At the end of the process, informing and preparing 100% of the population is essential.

(To AFP)

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