Get Guardian on GoogleThe United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), yesterday that more countries than ever are reporting multi-hazard early warning systems, but major gaps remain in communities most vulnerable to disasters.
According to the Global Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems 2026, the number of countries reporting some multi-hazard early warning system capability has risen to 136, an increase of 17 from March 2025.
The findings come as an intensifying El-Niño threatens to bring more extreme weather to many parts of the world, underscoring the urgency of ensuring that forecasts result in anticipatory action.
The UN agencies revealed this in a new report, noting that the figure brings global coverage to 70 per cent of countries, a 143 per cent increase since reporting began in 2015.
Updated analysis by the UN shows a strong association between more comprehensive systems and lower disaster impacts.
Countries with substantial to comprehensive early warning capabilities recorded disaster-related mortality that is 6.1 times lower than countries with limited to moderate systems. They also recorded 3.2 times fewer people affected by disasters.
However, the report said significant gaps remain, especially among countries with the least capacity to adapt to growing climate risks.
It further revealed that Small Island developing States (SIDS) have the lowest reported coverage, while Least Developed Countries (LDCs) have the lowest overall comprehensiveness scores, despite registering the greatest improvement from their initial scores.
Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction and Head of UNDRR, Kamal Kishore, said: “Countries have made significant progress in strengthening their early warning systems, but too many people remain unprotected. If we are serious about reducing loss and damage, strengthening early warning and early action in the most vulnerable countries must be a top global priority.”
WMO’s latest seasonal climate outlook indicates that the current El Niño could be unprecedented in strength and warned that its effects are already being felt, with extreme weather expected to multiply and cascade as the event intensifies.
Secretary-General of WMO, Celeste Saulo, said: “The current El Niño event could be literally off our monitoring charts. While we cannot stop El Niño, we can prevent many of its worst human consequences. Early warning systems give us the opportunity to anticipate risks and act before extreme weather leads to a humanitarian disaster,” said
The report was issued to coincide with a high-level event with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Early Warnings for All: Delivering our Promise to Protect Everyone in Antalya, Türkiye at COP31.
In 2025, the proportion of WMO Members sharing data from at least one Global Basic Observing Network-compliant station increased from 37 per cent in 2023 to 52-per cent, reflecting improvements in the observation networks that underpin accurate forecasts and warnings.
Mobile-based public warning systems have also continued to expand. As of June 2026, 38 countries had fully operational Cell Broadcast systems, while a further 17 countries were in the final stages of developing them.
