WORLD METEOROLOGICAL DAY 2022
Disaster Resilience is "The Wealth-of-The-Nation".
- The first fact is that the Mauritius Meteorological Services did publish the Flood Warning beforehand as far as the Flash Flood of 13 March 2022 was concerned;
- The second fact is that the people do not have any knowledge regarding the Impacts of such Natural Disasters WHICH ARE PREVAILING WITH INCREASED fREQUENCY and INTENSITY;
- The National Disaster Management Centre, previously ‘foetus-like’, is still operating on reactive and ad-hoc bases;
- Another fact is that the Role of the Media is also questionable, as they are notorious in ‘Dissecting, Distorting, Digressing and Delaying’ (DDDD) Alerts and Warnings to the population and
- The Policy Makers of almost all countries are Amateurs and Part-Timers with very little knowledge on Disaster Management. So, education is non-existent in the Republic of Mauritius.
The theme of the World Meteorological Day-23 MARCH 2022 is: “EARLY WARNING AND EARLY ACTION.’’
WMO Geneva:
[[[Weather, climate and water extremes are becoming more frequent and intense in many parts of the world as a result of climate change. More of us are exposed than ever before to multiple related hazards, which are themselves evolving as a result of population growth, urbanization and environmental degradation.
Forecasts of what the weather will BE are no longer enough. Impact-based forecasts that inform the public of what the weather will DO are vital to save lives and livelihoods. Yet one in three people are still not adequately covered by early warning systems.
Greater coordination between national meteorological and hydrological services, disaster management authorities and development agencies is fundamental to better prevention, preparedness and response.
COVID-19 has complicated the challenges facing society and weakened coping mechanisms. The pandemic has also highlighted that, in our inter-connected world, we need to embrace a truly multi-hazard, cross-border approach to make progress towards global goals on climate action, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development.
Being prepared and able to act at the right time, in the right place, can save many lives and protect the livelihoods of communities everywhere, both now and in the future.
World Meteorological Day 23 March 2022 therefore has the theme Early Warning and Early Action, and spotlights the vital importance of Hydrometeorological and Climate Information for Disaster Risk Reduction.]]]
WMO Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970–2019) (WMO-No. 1267)
[[[ Between 1970 and 2019, there were more than 11 000 disasters attributed to weather, climate and water-related hazards, which accounted for just over 2 million deaths and US$ 3.64 trillion in losses, according to new data presented in this WMO Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes.
Economic losses are mounting as exposure increases. But, behind the stark statistics, lies a message of hope. This second edition of the WMO Atlas shows that implementation of multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWSs) has led to a significant reduction in mortality. Quite simply, we are better than ever before at saving lives.
WMO is playing a pioneering role in promoting impact- based forecasts that inform the public of what the weather will do as well as what it will be and in fostering greater coordination between national meteorological services and their counterparts in disaster management agencies. This is leading to better prevention, preparedness and response.
But much more remains to be done. There are severe gaps in weather observations, especially in Africa and island states, which undermine the accuracy of early warnings locally and globally. Additionally, only half of 193 WMO Members have multi-hazard early warning systems. The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 (Sendai Framework) recognizes the significant benefits of MHEWSs by incorporating them into one of its seven global targets: “Substantially increase the availability and access to multi-hazard early warning systems and disaster risk information and assessments to people by 2030”.
Much has evolved since the production of the first edition in 2014 of the WMO Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate, and Water Extremes, which provided an analysis of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters’ (CRED) Emergency Events Database (EM-DAT). For this second edition, WMO set the bar even higher, disaggregating the data further down to the hazard level for more granularity. It was paramount that WMO, a scientific organization, present statistics on the exposure and impacts that can and should be used as a basis for capacity development, policy development and decision-making to protect lives and livelihoods.
This report reveals a few key lessons learned during the past 50 years. These include:
. Review hazard exposure and vulnerability considering a changing climate to reflect that tropical cyclones may have different tracks, intensity and speed than in the past.
. Strengthen disaster risk financing mechanisms at national to international levels, especially for Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States and Territories.
• Develop integrated and proactive policies on slow-onset disasters such as drought.
The WMO Cataloguing of Hazardous Weather, Climate, Water, and Space Weather Events is also introduced. When fully implemented, this will strengthen the statistical basis for national development, planning and prevention and provide a solid foundation for understanding hazard exposure and impacts from national to global levels.
The number of weather, climate and water extremes are increasing and will become more frequent and severe in many parts of the world as a result of climate change. The WMO community is therefore striving to increase capacities to identify and reduce the risks associated with such extremes and to strengthen the early warning systems for these hazardous events.
I want to thank our partners, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Health Organization, as well as the authors and contributors. I would also like to thank CRED for working with us during the analysis phase.
The WMO Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes provides invaluable insight and important information on weather, climate and water-related hazards and their impacts as we all strive to achieve the targets of the Sendai Framework.
Prof. Petteri Taalas
Secretary-General.]]]