The first ever Global Early Warnings for All Multi-Stakeholder Forum is taking place to inject a sense of urgency and unity into the global ambition of protecting everyone everywhere with timely, life-saving early warnings.
Co-led by the UN Office for Disaster Risk reduction (UNDRR) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and supported by many partners, the forum offers a dynamic platform to review progress, showcase solutions, and accelerate the implementation the Early Warnings for All initiative and progress towards the Sendai Framework Target G .
"An effective early warning system is the most basic tool for saving lives. Achieving Early Warnings for All by 2027 is ambitious but it is achievable," said Selwin Hart Assistant Secretary-General of the Climate Action Team and Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and Just Transition.
Despite progress, there are still major gaps in coverage, especially in developing countries. The Multi-Stakeholder Forum seeks to close the gaps by bringing together National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), disaster risk managers, policymakers, technical experts, civil society, youth, persons with disabilities, private sector actors, and development partners.
"This momentum reinforces the critical role of multi-stakeholder collaboration in making Early Warnings for All a reality - no single actor can do it alone," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo in her opening address .
"As the UN specialized agency for weather, climate and water, WMO stands at the scientific core of early warning systems. Our work is technical but our purpose is human. The WMO community provides the science to see the storm before it strikes, the tools to track its path and the alerts that sound the alarm," she said.
"Yet no warning - however early - is effective unless it reaches the right people at the right time. And that is why we are here today. To cement our partnerships and trust which are essential to early action," said Celeste Saulo.
Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction
The forum takes place ahead of the Global Platform on Disaster Risk Reduction and coincides with Heat Action Day - an annual event to highlight the need for action against extreme heat, which is widely described as the silent killer.
It follows a major International Conference on Glacier Preservation in Tajikistan , which showed strong political will to strengthen early warning systems, given that the melting of glaciers is leading to an increase in hazards like landslides and glacial lake outburst floods.
The tragedy of the glacier collapse which flattened the Swiss village of Blatten on 28 May highlighted the importance of early warnings and early action. Successfully coordinated disaster preparedness, management and response prevented loss of life, said Swiss Deputy Ambassador Julien Thoeni.
Regional forums
The Global Multi-Stakeholder Forum is structured around six dynamic thematic sessions to ensure a comprehensive and action-oriented approach:
- People-centred and user-tailored approaches for early warnings
- The race for effective MHEWS in fragile and conflict settings
- Effective governance for MHEWS
- Advancing MHEWS through science, technology and local knowledge
- Accelerating EW4ALL through international, regional and national cooperation and partnership
- Solutions for scaling and sustaining investments in MHEWS.
It reflects the discussions during the regional events over the past year. All five regional forums concluded that EW4All has made progress but needs to accelerate and close gaps.
One hundred and eight countries now report having Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems, said Kamal Kishore , head of UNDRR and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction. "These are not just numbers. I am seeing the impact this is having on the ground," he said.
"For Sendai, this is our Now or Never moment," he said. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 outlines clear targets and priorities.
Success stories
Celeste Saulo cited four examples of success, within the area of WMO's mandate:
- WMO has stepped up real-time data sharing through the WMO Information System, with training and support to 90 countries in the last two years.
- As tropical cyclones become more intense, WMO's global network of regional specialized centres have updated cyclone forecasting guidance products so countries can benefit from more accurate forecasts and warnings.
- WMO has updated guidance on heat indicators and plan to increase support on heat advisories through its Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers in India, Singapore, Kenya and South Africa.
- WMO have developed technical regulations on early warning services to standardize service delivery. This builds confidence and trust in NMHSs as the authoritative voice on weather, climate and water.
- With support from Norwegian Capacity (NORCAP) and the Climate Risk and Early Warning System Initiative, WMO is supporting the digital transformation of NMHSs. Half the countries in Africa received technology and training. This support increased the warnings published by countries by 2500% compared to the past and added 1000 new stations from Africa to the Global Basic Observing Network.
"We can be proud of our success. But we must go further. And faster. And together," said Celeste Saulo.
She said that five key points that should drive our action:
- The science must connect to people.
- The systems must be inclusive.
- The partnerships must be expansive.
- The benefits must be universal.
- We must broaden the tent to embrace not just meteorologists and disaster managers alone, but also educators and farmers, mayors and mobile operators, engineers and indigenous leaders.
The CREWS Accelerator: Early Warnings for ALL project supports the organization of the Global Multi-Stakeholder Forum, which feeds into the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction , which takes place every two years. This year's theme is Every Day Counts, Act for Resilience Today.
Ahead of the Global Platform, UNDRR issued its flagship The Global Assessment Report 2025 : Resilience Pays: Financing and Investing for our Future. It highlights how smarter investment can reset the destructive cycle of disasters, debt, uninsurability and humanitarian need that threatens a climate-changed world.
