Early Warning Coverage Expands to 136 Countries as UN Calls for Lasting Public Funding

UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged governments and partners to ensure that nobody dies because a warning arrives too late or never reaches them.

Early warning systems are saving lives, with gaps leaving vulnerable countries exposed to hazards evolving faster than efforts to protect people. At a COP31 event in Türkiye, UN Secretary-General António Guterres urged governments and partners to ensure that nobody dies because a warning arrives too late or never reaches them. His appeal reinforced the Early Warnings for All initiative, which he launched to make protection from dangerous weather and other hazards available to everyone.

The Global Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems 2026 report finds that 136 countries, representing 70 per cent of the total, now report having these systems, an increase of 17 since March 2025. Published by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO), it warns that roughly one in three countries remains unprotected, particularly least developed countries and small island states. Countries with substantial to comprehensive systems record disaster-related mortality six times lower than those with limited to moderate systems, demonstrating the importance of effective coverage.

Guterres said approximately US$2 billion has been mobilized since 2022, with around 160 countries receiving support through the initiative. Funding needs to cover the warning chain, from forecasting and communication technology to volunteers reaching people at their doors. He called for early warnings to become a permanent public service, financing and capacity gaps to close, and coordinated, long-term support for country-led plans to replace fragmented projects.

International cooperation must carry the initiative beyond 2027

WMO and UNDRR lead Early Warnings for All with the International Telecommunication Union, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other partners. Speakers at the high-level discussion stressed that work must continue beyond the original 2027 target, with success measured through lives and livelihoods saved. Addressing the event on 11 November, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo described protection from disasters as a shared responsibility requiring collective action across humanity.

Cyclones, dust storms and floods can begin hundreds of kilometres from affected communities, making shared observations, cross-border data and multiple warning channels essential. Saulo cited an August disaster near the Nepal–China border, where collapsing rock and ice triggered a deadly river flood travelling at nearly 200 kilometres an hour, overwhelming a system designed for monsoon flooding. She said the strongest El Niño since 1950 was testing warning systems, underscoring the need to prepare for changing and interconnected hazards.

Staffing and connectivity gaps limit the reach of forecasts

Only 15 in every 100 national weather services have all the technicians needed to operate and maintain their systems, creating a constraint on reliable protection. Just 14 in every 100 provide impact-based forecasts that explain what weather could do to people, infrastructure and livelihoods. Some AI forecasting tools can operate on modest computers, with unstable internet connections affecting 29 national weather services and limiting their ability to use available technology.

Africa's progress shows the value of coordinated early action

Globally, warnings triggered 146 anticipatory action activations across 54 countries in 2025, reaching 9.6 million people, according to the report. At an event on accelerating early warnings in Africa, Saulo said no region had improved more, with national roadmaps and coordination helping Africa reach the Americas' average level. Fewer than half of disaster-affected people in Central and West Africa received warnings, showing how progress across a region can leave serious local gaps.

Africa's climate forum met in Zambia within two weeks of WMO declaring El Niño in June 2026, followed by a special session of African Union ministers in July. Humanitarian funding was released before drought arrived in Madagascar and Zimbabwe, using WMO forecasts to support earlier action. Saulo urged governments to place National Meteorological and Hydrological Services at the centre of lasting warning systems and fund them year after year as trusted, essential public services.