The Global Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems 2026 showed that 136 countries, representing 70% of the global total, had reported having multi-hazard warning systems. The figure increased by 17 countries since March 2025.
However, about one-third of countries remain without adequate protection, with the largest gaps in least-developed countries, small island states and conflict-affected nations. “No one should lose their life simply because a warning came too late, or never came at all,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye.
Countries with substantial or comprehensive systems also recorded 3.2 times fewer people affected by disasters than countries with weaker systems.
When a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula in July 2025, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre issued initial alerts within 10 minutes.
Japan evacuated about 1.9 million people, while more than 2 300 people were moved from high-risk areas in Ecuador’s Galápagos Islands before waves reached the coast.
In Madagascar, a Malagasy Red Cross early-action plan reached between 80 000 and 100 000 people before Tropical Cyclone Gezani made landfall.
Warnings delivered through women’s cooperatives, text messages, radio and loudspeakers also helped communities in Rwanda protect crops and property before heavy rainfall. “Some European countries have more weather stations that meet global standards than the entire continent of Africa,” Guterres said.
“We cannot warn people about what we cannot see.”
World Meteorological Organisation Secretary-General Celeste Saulo warned that the current El Niño could exceed existing monitoring records. “While we cannot stop El Niño, we can prevent many of its worst human consequences,” Saulo said.
About $2 billion has been mobilised for the Early Warnings for All initiative since 2022, with approximately 160 countries receiving support.
The UN said financing must cover forecasting, communications infrastructure and community-level delivery.
In 2025, 146 anticipatory-action activations across 54 countries reached 9.6 million people.
Guterres called for early warnings to become a permanent public service, supported by long-term financing and coordinated national plans. “The climate crisis is accelerating. Our protection of people must accelerate with it,” Guterres said.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
