An early warning system (EWS) is a technology and process designed to detect a potential disaster early enough to provide sufficient time to react and mitigate the impact on people and infrastructure. Read here to learn more.
Early warning systems are critical in disaster risk reduction, and they play a vital role in safeguarding lives and property by providing timely and effective information through identified institutions and channels.
Early warning systems
It can be defined as “An integrated system of hazard monitoring, forecasting and prediction, disaster risk assessment, communication and preparedness activities systems and processes that enable individuals, communities, governments, businesses and others to take timely action to reduce disaster risks in advance of hazardous events.”
- The early warning system is an adaptive measure for climate change, using integrated communication systems to help communities prepare for hazardous climate-related events.
- A successful EWS saves lives and jobs, land and infrastructures and supports long-term sustainability.
- Early warning systems will assist public officials and administrators in their planning, saving money in the long run and protecting economies.
- With human-induced climate change leading to more extreme weather conditions, the need for early warning systems is more crucial than ever.
- Systems that warn people of impending storms, floods or droughts are not a luxury but a cost-effective tool that saves lives, reduces economic losses, and provides a nearly tenfold return on investment.
- Early warning systems have helped decrease the number of deaths and have reduced losses and damages resulting from hazardous weather, water or climate events.
- But major gaps still exist, especially in small island developing states and least-developed countries.
The UN, working in diverse partnerships, has introduced several innovative early warning systems initiatives in vulnerable areas around the world.
Types of Early Warning Systems
Natural Disaster Warning Systems:
- Meteorological Threats: Systems that provide warnings for hurricanes, tornadoes, heavy rainfall, tsunamis, and other severe weather events, using satellite imagery, weather stations, radar, and other meteorological monitoring technologies.
- Geological Threats: Systems that alert populations about volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. These use seismographs, GPS, and other sensors to monitor earth movements and volcanic activity.
- Hydrological Threats: Systems designed to warn of flood risks from rising river levels or dam failures, utilizing water level gauges, flow sensors, and meteorological data.
Industrial and Technological Warning Systems:
- Chemical Accidents: Systems in industrial facilities that detect harmful chemical releases, typically involving sensor networks to monitor air quality and hazardous conditions.
- Nuclear Incidents: Systems that monitor radiation levels and operational parameters within nuclear facilities to detect and respond to anomalies that could lead to accidents.
Public Health Warning Systems:
- Disease Outbreaks: These systems use surveillance data to detect and respond to outbreaks of infectious diseases, enabling timely public health interventions.
- Pandemic Alert Systems: Global networks like the World Health Organization (WHO) monitor and provide alerts on emerging health threats that could reach pandemic proportions.
Components of an Effective Early Warning System
- Detection and Monitoring: Continuous monitoring using sensors and other data-collecting technologies to gather real-time information about potential hazards.
- Data Analysis and Forecasting: Analyzing the collected data to forecast potential impacts, using models and other predictive tools to assess when and where the disaster might strike.
- Dissemination and Communication: Efficient systems to communicate the warning to all stakeholders, including the government, emergency services, and the public. This may involve multiple channels like SMS, radio, TV, and internet-based communications to ensure broad coverage.
- Response Capability: Preparedness and emergency response plans that are well-practised and can be activated swiftly once a warning is issued. This includes training for emergency responders and public awareness campaigns.
Challenges
Despite the urgent need, only half of the countries worldwide report having adequate multi-hazard early warning systems.
And even fewer have regulatory frameworks that connect early warnings to emergency and response plans. There also are big gaps in the global observing system required to generate forecasts.
- Accuracy and Timeliness: Balancing the need for timely warnings with the risk of false alarms, can lead to complacency among the population.
- Reach and Accessibility: Ensuring that warnings reach all segments of the population, including vulnerable groups like the elderly, disabled, or those in remote areas.
- Integration and Coordination: Coordinating between different agencies and sectors to ensure a unified and effective response.
Climate, weather and water-related extremes have led to 15 times more deadly hazards for people in Africa, South Asia, South and Central America, and small island states.
- Vulnerable, least-developed countries that have not contributed significantly to the climate crisis are bearing the brunt.
- Over the last 50 years, nearly 70 per cent of all deaths from climate-related disasters have occurred in the 46 poorest countries.
Leveraging new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for better prediction and analysis, and using advanced communication tools to disseminate warnings more effectively should be prioritised.
Early Warning for All
Early Warnings for All is a groundbreaking initiative to ensure that everyone on Earth is protected from hazardous weather, water, or climate events through life-saving early warning systems by the end of 2027.
- As part of the UN Secretary-General’s Acceleration Agenda, the Early Warnings for All initiative is a key contribution to delivering climate justice to those at the frontlines of the climate crisis.
- It aligns with the priorities of the Paris Agreement and supports key provisions of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, particularly Target G on the availability and accessibility of multi-hazard early warning systems.
- It also contributes to delivering the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development on poverty, hunger, health, water, clean energy, climate action and sustainable cities.
Four pillars:
- Disaster risk knowledge and management: Ensuring all countries have access to reliable, understandable and relevant risk information, science and expertise (led by UNDRR).
- Detection, observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting: Ensuring all countries have robust forecast and monitoring systems (both soft and hardware infrastructure) and enabling policies to support optimization and sustainability of hazard monitoring and early warning systems (led by WMO).
- Warning dissemination and communication: Using a people-centred approach to ensure that early warnings are effectively and timely disseminated to reach everyone, especially those most at risk (led by ITU).
- Preparedness and response capabilities: Ensuring local governments, communities and individuals at risk know and means to take pre-emptive early actions to prepare for and respond to incoming disasters upon receiving warnings (led by IFRC).
The Early Warnings for All initiative brings together the broader UN system, governments, civil society and development partners across the public and private sectors to enhance collaboration and accelerated action to address gaps and deliver people-centred, end-to-end multi-hazard early warning systems that leave no one behind.
Why in the news?
India is helping Nepal, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Mauritius develop early warning systems to reduce the loss of life and property due to extreme weather events.
- India’s efforts are part of the ‘Early Warnings for All’ initiative announced by the United Nations in 2022.
Conclusion
Early warning systems are a fundamental component of modern disaster risk management strategies, reflecting an understanding that preparedness and prevention are far more cost-effective than disaster response and recovery.
Their effectiveness critically depends on the integration of technologies, human factors, and organizational frameworks.
Early warning systems have proven to be a cost-effective and reliable solution to protect lives and livelihoods from natural hazards such as floods, heatwaves, storms and tsunamis.
With 95 per cent of the world’s population having access to mobile broadband networks and nearly 75 per cent owning a mobile phone, mobile networks have become powerful communication channels that can effectively target those in at-risk areas.
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-Article by Swathi Satish
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