Over the past 50 years, (1970-2019), a weather, climate or water-related disaster has occurred on average every day – taking the lives of 115 people and causing US$ 202 million in losses daily. The number of recorded disasters increased by a factor of five over that 50-year period, driven by anthropogenic climate change, more extreme weather events and improved reporting. But thanks to improved early warnings and disaster management, the number of deaths decreased almost three-fold over the same period. The benefits to society of the long-standing cooperation between the hydrometeorological and disaster risk management communities is undeniable.
The hydrometeorological sciences that provide user-oriented early warning services for disaster risk reduction (DRR) are underpinned by infrastructure, data exchange, tremendous computer power and expert professional capacity across many fields. These are important pre-requisites for understanding disaster risks, providing useful warnings ahead of disasters and strengthening resilience. In 2015, 187 countries adopted the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, which aims, as per its Target G, to “Substantially increase the availability of and access to multi-hazard early warning systems” and as per its Priority 1 to gain a better “Understanding Disaster Risk.” Likewise, DRR has become an even bigger priority for the hydrometeorological community.
Complex disaster risks and the Earth system
Hydrometeorological hazards and disaster risks do not follow straight paths. Great opportunities and complex risks arise as populations grow, move and adapt to economic changes, such as globalization, and environmental challenges such as climate change. The global financial system, supply and demand chains, energy sector and digital economy have become more complex and inter-connected. And with it, the very nature and scale of risk has changed to such a degree that it surpasses established risk management approaches (GAR 2019). Within this “system-of-systems,” the impacts of natural hazards and other shocks have the potential to propagate, extending beyond the initial hazard footprint and resulting in cascading disasters. In addition, the impacts of hazardous events are being compounded by expanding urbanization, socioeconomic disparities and other factors. It is, therefore, essential that the WMO community consider a system-wide approach for DRR and resilience. Strengthening resilience requires collective actions through cooperation and partnerships with all levels of government, academia, business and civil society.
The WMO community’s priority is to ensure cooperation and coordination of activities across its focus areas – weather, water, environment and climate – to reduce disaster risks. Joint efforts are needed throughout the hydrometeorological community – science, technology, services and capacity development – and an integrated Earth system approach that looks at the physical planetary system as a whole (Figure 1). This approach is inclusive of the atmosphere, the ocean and hydrosphere, the terrestrial realm, the cryosphere and biosphere, breaking barriers and building comprehensive interdisciplinary teams with physical, behavioural, economic and social sciences. Such integration has been a priority for WMO for many years and one of the drivers of the recent WMO Reform. In 2019, the World Meteorological Congress endorsed a shift to an “Earth system approach” in parallel with its approval of the WMO Reform package.