A report from the United Nations released on Thursday shows that the world is experiencing more severe disasters, such as extreme heat waves, storms and droughts as a result of climate change.
The report released by the U.N. Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) showed that many governments are not sufficiently prepared to get early warnings out to their residents.
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It found that half of the countries do not have what it calls the “multi-hazard early warning systems” needed to ensure that their inhabitants have the earliest possible opportunity to prepare for disaster.
The report further showed that the U.N. has been working to emphasize the need for national governments to invest in such systems and also the need for rich countries to subsidize those systems in developing countries, which are the most at risk from climate change and the least equipped to handle its damaging effects.
U.N. Secretary-General, António Guterres, in a video message released on Thursday, put the issue squarely on the table for November’s climate change conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, known as COP27.
He said, “entire populations are being blindsided by cascading climate disasters, without any means of prior alert,”. “People need an adequate warning to prepare for extreme weather events.
Speaking further, he said, “that is why I am calling for universal early warning coverage in the next five years. The report reveals that such services are woefully lacking for those who need them most. At the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, I will launch an action plan to provide early warning systems for all within five years.”
Story was adapted from Yahoo News.
