Learning from the past in moving to the future: Invest in communication and response to weather early warnings to reduce death and damage
As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, governments and civil society organizations are making large investments in early warning systems (EWS) with the aim to avoid death and destruction from hydro-meteorological events. Early warning systems have four com...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-01-01
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Series: | Climate Risk Management |
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Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096322000687 |
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author | Erin Coughlan de Perez Kristoffer B. Berse Lianne Angelico C. Depante Evan Easton-Calabria Elton Pierre R. Evidente Theodore Ezike Dorothy Heinrich Christopher Jack Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay Selma Lendelvo Joalane Marunye Daniel G. Maxwell Sonia Binte Murshed Christopher Garimoi Orach Mecthilde Pinto Leah B. Poole Komal Rathod Shampa Carolyn Van Sant |
author_facet | Erin Coughlan de Perez Kristoffer B. Berse Lianne Angelico C. Depante Evan Easton-Calabria Elton Pierre R. Evidente Theodore Ezike Dorothy Heinrich Christopher Jack Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay Selma Lendelvo Joalane Marunye Daniel G. Maxwell Sonia Binte Murshed Christopher Garimoi Orach Mecthilde Pinto Leah B. Poole Komal Rathod Shampa Carolyn Van Sant |
author_sort | Erin Coughlan de Perez |
collection | DOAJ |
description | As climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, governments and civil society organizations are making large investments in early warning systems (EWS) with the aim to avoid death and destruction from hydro-meteorological events. Early warning systems have four components: (1) risk knowledge, (2) monitoring and warning, (3) warning dissemination and communication, and (4) response capability. While there is room to improve all four of these components, we argue that the largest gaps in early warning systems fall in the latter two categories: warning dissemination/communication and response capability. We illustrate this by examining the four components of early warning systems for the deadliest and costliest meteorological disasters of this century, demonstrating that the lack of EWS protection is not a lack of forecasts or warnings, but rather a lack of adequate communication and lack of response capability. Improving the accuracy of weather forecasts is unlikely to offer major benefits without resolving these gaps in communication and response capability. To protect vulnerable groups around the world, we provide recommendations for investments that would close such gaps, such as improved communication channels, impact forecasts, early action policies and infrastructure. It is our hope that further investment to close these gaps can better deliver on the goal of reducing deaths and damages with EWS. |
first_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:25:37Z |
format | Article |
id | doaj.art-d7d9343df4ab44f5bb52fcdc957d6dee |
institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
issn | 2212-0963 |
language | English |
last_indexed | 2024-04-11T06:25:37Z |
publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
publisher | Elsevier |
record_format | Article |
series | Climate Risk Management |
spelling | doaj.art-d7d9343df4ab44f5bb52fcdc957d6dee2022-12-22T04:40:23ZengElsevierClimate Risk Management2212-09632022-01-0138100461Learning from the past in moving to the future: Invest in communication and response to weather early warnings to reduce death and damageErin Coughlan de Perez0Kristoffer B. Berse1Lianne Angelico C. Depante2Evan Easton-Calabria3Elton Pierre R. Evidente4Theodore Ezike5Dorothy Heinrich6Christopher Jack7Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay8Selma Lendelvo9Joalane Marunye10Daniel G. Maxwell11Sonia Binte Murshed12Christopher Garimoi Orach13Mecthilde Pinto14Leah B. Poole15Komal Rathod16 Shampa17Carolyn Van Sant18Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, USA; Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the Netherlands; Corresponding author.University of the Philippines Resilience Institute, Philippines; University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance, PhilippinesUniversity of the Philippines Resilience Institute, PhilippinesTufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, USAUniversity of the Philippines Resilience Institute, PhilippinesTufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, USARed Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the NetherlandsRed Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the Netherlands; Climate Systems Analysis Group, University of Cape Town, South AfricaUniversity of the Philippines Resilience Institute, PhilippinesUniversity of Namibia, Multidisciplinary Research Services, NamibiaDepartment of Geography and Environmental Science, National University of Lesotho, LesothoTufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, USAInstitute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, BangladeshSchool of Public Health, Department of Community Health and Behavioural Sciences, Makerere University, UgandaUniversity of Namibia, Multidisciplinary Research Services, NamibiaTufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, USA; Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the NetherlandsTufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, USAInstitute of Water and Flood Management (IWFM), Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, BangladeshTufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, USAAs climate change increases the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, governments and civil society organizations are making large investments in early warning systems (EWS) with the aim to avoid death and destruction from hydro-meteorological events. Early warning systems have four components: (1) risk knowledge, (2) monitoring and warning, (3) warning dissemination and communication, and (4) response capability. While there is room to improve all four of these components, we argue that the largest gaps in early warning systems fall in the latter two categories: warning dissemination/communication and response capability. We illustrate this by examining the four components of early warning systems for the deadliest and costliest meteorological disasters of this century, demonstrating that the lack of EWS protection is not a lack of forecasts or warnings, but rather a lack of adequate communication and lack of response capability. Improving the accuracy of weather forecasts is unlikely to offer major benefits without resolving these gaps in communication and response capability. To protect vulnerable groups around the world, we provide recommendations for investments that would close such gaps, such as improved communication channels, impact forecasts, early action policies and infrastructure. It is our hope that further investment to close these gaps can better deliver on the goal of reducing deaths and damages with EWS.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096322000687Early warning systemsDisastersCyclonesClimate change adaptationForecasts |
spellingShingle | Erin Coughlan de Perez Kristoffer B. Berse Lianne Angelico C. Depante Evan Easton-Calabria Elton Pierre R. Evidente Theodore Ezike Dorothy Heinrich Christopher Jack Alfredo Mahar Francisco A. Lagmay Selma Lendelvo Joalane Marunye Daniel G. Maxwell Sonia Binte Murshed Christopher Garimoi Orach Mecthilde Pinto Leah B. Poole Komal Rathod Shampa Carolyn Van Sant Learning from the past in moving to the future: Invest in communication and response to weather early warnings to reduce death and damage Climate Risk Management Early warning systems Disasters Cyclones Climate change adaptation Forecasts |
title | Learning from the past in moving to the future: Invest in communication and response to weather early warnings to reduce death and damage |
title_full | Learning from the past in moving to the future: Invest in communication and response to weather early warnings to reduce death and damage |
title_fullStr | Learning from the past in moving to the future: Invest in communication and response to weather early warnings to reduce death and damage |
title_full_unstemmed | Learning from the past in moving to the future: Invest in communication and response to weather early warnings to reduce death and damage |
title_short | Learning from the past in moving to the future: Invest in communication and response to weather early warnings to reduce death and damage |
title_sort | learning from the past in moving to the future invest in communication and response to weather early warnings to reduce death and damage |
topic | Early warning systems Disasters Cyclones Climate change adaptation Forecasts |
url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212096322000687 |
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