The number of countries with life-saving early warning services has more than doubled in the past ten years, but huge gaps remain and many millions of people lack protection against dangerous weather, which is inflicting an increasing toll on economic assets and vital infrastructure.
The World Meteorological Organization has therefore convened an Extraordinary Congress of its 193 Members to accelerate and expand the global Early Warnings For All initiative, which was launched by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in 2022 and seeks universal coverage by the end of 2027.
A ministerial-level event on 20 October will open the four-day Extraordinary Congress, which also celebrates WMO's 75th anniversary as the UN specialized agency for weather, climate and water . Underlining the importance of the essential role of WMO and the urgency of its mission, Mr Guterres will address Congress on 22 October.
"Seventy-five years ago, the World Meteorological Organization was born out of the reality that weather, water and climate respect no national boundaries. Global collaboration on observations and forecasts is indispensible because no individual country can do this on their own," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
"The history of WMO is one of solidarity, cooperation, shared data, innovation and trust. There can be no resilient development, no food security, no infrastructure planning and no disaster risk reduction without the services, science and infrastructure that we collectively, provide," she said.
Our slogan "Science for Action" sums up WMO's immense contribution to global economic and social well-being. That same conviction inspires the Early Warnings for All initiative. It is Science for Action and Science IN Action," she said.
Celeste Saulo will issue a Call to Action on Early Warnings for All and launch a new report on progress in hazard monitoring and forecasting at the high-level session.
