Early Warning Systems (EWS) stand at the forefront of disaster risk reduction efforts worldwide. On the World Meteorological Day of March 2022, the United Nations Secretary General called for every person on Earth to be protected by EWS against increasingly extreme weather and climate change by 2027. It is estimated that universal access to EWS can reduce asset and well-being losses from disasters by an estimated $35 billion per year and contributes to reducing mortality from disaster risks.
Nevertheless, billions of people today still do not have access to EWS: approximately one-third of the world's population still lacks access to a warning system. This figure is likely to increase in events of protracted conflict, and fragile,conflict, and violence (FCV)-affected countries stand out as they are particularly vulnerable to disaster risks: of the top 25 most climate vulnerable countries, 19 are fragile and/or conflict ‐affected, illustrating the alarming intersection of FCV with growing climate and disaster risks.
This deep-dive session aims to foster discussions among operational teams on the critical need for tailored and contextualized approaches to EWS implementation in FCV settings, in order to enhance community resilience in the face of climate and disaster risks.
