WMO supports the implementation of the Common Alerting Protocol and HydroSOS in Bangladesh
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is supporting the implementation of Common Alerting Protocol and End-to-End Early Warning Systems for Floods and Drought in Bangladesh.
On 20 and 21 April, a workshop on the Common Alerting Protocol (CAP) was organized in collaboration with the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) and Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB), under the framework of the SIDA-funded EW4All multi-stakeholder accelerator in LDCs and SIDS project.
More than 30 participants from BMD, BWDB, disaster management, international organizations including IFRC and ITU, and the Bangladesh Red Cross joined the workshop, gaining the knowledge and skills needed to develop standardized warning messages in CAP format, and to communicate anticipatory or response actions for various stakeholders, with the goal of saving lives and livelihoods.
Participants are expected to develop their national CAP implementation plan, including standard operating procedures for CAP messages and dissemination. WMO will continue to support BMD and BWDB with the operationalization of CAP for hydrometeorological hazards, sharing CAP compliant warnings on the Severe Weather Information Centre, a core component of the Early Warnings for All Initiative.
Following the CAP workshop, a high-level meeting with the same partners saw the finalization of the WMO Assessment Matrix on an End-to-End Early Warning System (EWS) for Floods and Drought. The meeting provided an understanding of current capacities, gaps, and needs for strengthening EWS in Bangladesh. These discussions and recommendations are crucial for feeding into the finalization of a new project set to launch later this year.
