On March 23rd of every year, “World Meteorology Day is celebrated across the planet. The date commemorates the day on which the international agreement came into force that established the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a specialized agency within the United Nations system specializing in weather, climate and water issues.
Each year the celebration is dedicated to a specific, usually important, theme, which in the case of 2022 will be “Early Warning and Early Action.
I don’t think you can imagine a world today where there are no weather forecasts and people don’t learn about weather phenomena that might affect them from meteorologists, on TV and on the radio. However, it must be said that not only in these cases, but also when we go for a walk, do something outdoors or go to the beach, etc.
Meteorology is the science that deals with the atmosphere and its phenomena, and while it is primarily concerned with the weather forecast best known in the media, it also goes further with the study of longterm weather and climate trends , and the possible effects that they can have on our lives. Climate change has already been an important area of research in recent times.
The theme chosen by WMO to celebrate World Meteorology Day this year is “Early Warning and Early Action, a theme that emphasizes the importance of weather and climate information in reducing disaster risk. As climate change makes extreme weather and climate events more frequent and intense, WMO promotes impactbased forecasting to save lives and livelihoods.
Early warnings save lives and livelihoods. Photo: WMO
However, it is clear that just having an accurate forecast of a dangerous weather situation is not enough. Greater coordination is also needed, not only between national meteorological and hydrological services, but also with authorities responsible for disaster management and with development agencies, in order to improve prevention, preparedness and response to disasters.
The COVID19 pandemic has exacerbated societal challenges and weakened the mechanisms to deal with them. It also became clear that we need to take a truly crossrisk and crossborder approach to advance the global goals on climate change, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.
Being prepared and able to act in the right place at the right time can save many lives and protect the livelihoods of communities around the world today and in the future.
In its “2020 State of Climate Services Report, the WMO noted that weather, climate and waterrelated disasters caused more than 2 million deaths and $3.6 trillion in economic losses between 1970 and 2019 The number of registered disasters has increased fivefold and economic losses sevenfold.
Climate Watch: 2021: one of the seven warmest years on record, according to data consolidated by the World Meteorological Organization. Source: WMO
However, and this is good news, the average death toll for each disaster in these 50 years has fallen by a third. This is the result of better forecasts and earlier warnings, so appropriate preventive measures could have been taken, although we know that this has not been the case in all cases, although in most cases this has been the case.
The report examined risk information and early warning systems for threats such as tropical cyclones and hurricanes, floods, droughts, heat waves, wildfires, sand and dust storms, desert locusts, extreme winters and glacial lake outbursts.
The report found that extreme weather and climate events are increasing in frequency, intensity and severity as a result of climate change, posing a threat to life, ecosystems and economies.
Predictions and early warnings save many lives.
This is where early warning systems come in, playing a key role in mitigating the impact. The report also stresses the need to go beyond just forecasting the weather; It is necessary to tell people what they will really feel, how a certain weather situation will affect them, and then to be able to anticipate its consequences so that people and businesses can prepare based on the warnings. In more technical language, this is what the WMO and meteorologists call Impact Based Forecasts.
And why is there an emphasis on early warning and early action to reduce risk? In fact, it has been calculated that, if you look closely at this data, for every dollar invested in preparing for disasters, it is possible to offset seven dollars in economic losses associated with those disasters avoid; that is, a significant return on investment.
The calculation is more than clear. With accurate forecasts and warnings, with good dissemination of forecasts and making them understandable for all in colloquial and plain language, and with public education and awarenessraising on how to prepare for hazards before they become disasters, it is possible to avoid first to reduce the loss of life and second to reduce the economic and material impact.