The Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) initiative is a financial mechanism which funds projects in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to establish risk-informed early warning services.    CREWS works directly with countries to increase the availability of, and access to, early warning systems.   Country and regional projects are implemented by the countries with the support of three Implementing Partners: the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the World Bank Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).  

One of WMO's main objectives is to enhance weather, climate, hydrological, marine, and related environmental services and applications for disaster risk reduction (DRR) and early warning services (EWS). Our mission is to support WMO Members’ National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in delivering high-quality, timely, and integrated meteorological and hydrological services that inform and enable effective DRR and EWS globally.

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 called for by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on World Meteorological Day 2022. With human-induced climate change leading to more extreme weather conditions, the need for early warning systems is more crucial than ever.  Despite the urgent need, only half of the countries worldwide report having adequate multi-hazard early warning systems. Early warning systems are not a luxury, but a cost-effective tool that saves lives, reduces economic losses, and provides a nearly tenfold return on investment. WMO, together with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), co-lead the Early Warnings for All initiative, with support from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).  The delivery of Early Warnings for All requires scale up and coordinated investments and action across the four essential pillars of people centred, end to end Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems (MHEWS): Disaster risk knowledge, Detection, observation, monitoring, analysis, and forecasting  Warning dissemination and communication and Preparedness and response capabilities. Achieving Early Warnings for All requires broad partnerships at the global, regional, and national levels in support of the most vulnerable and at risk. The 2023 Global Status of Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems report, launched at COP28, analyses the latest data one year into the Early Warnings for All Initiative, which aims to cover everyone everywhere by 2027. An Interactive Early Warnings for All Dashboard is now also available.Global Early Warnings for All Initiative

The Global Basic Observing Network (GBON) is a fundamental element of the WMO Integrated Global Observing System that responds to the geographical inconsistencies in availability of internationally exchanged data, in support of weather forecasts. GBON introduces a new approach in which the basic surface-based observing network implemented by WMO Members is designed, defined and monitored at the global level. GBON works to improve the availability of the essential surface-based  observational data, which are expected to enhance the quality of weather forecasts, thus helping improve the safety and well-being of citizens throughout the world and bring socioeconomic benefits.  GBON is a radical overhaul of the international exchange of observational data, which underpin all weather, climate and water services and products. The Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF) also facilitates implementation of GBON in the Least Developed Countries and the Small Island Developing States to generate and internationally exchange the required GBON station data.

The WMO Coordination Mechanism (WCM) plays a key role in curating authoritative weather, water and climate information from the WMO Community to the United Nations and humanitarian agencies, thereby enhancing preparedness and early response efforts. Through the Early Warnings for All Initiative (EW4All), WCM supports crisis-prone and conflict-affected regions with timely expert advice.For instance, during Tropical Cyclone MOCHA (May 2023), WCM curated critical information from various WMO Members and Centres, enabling a coordinated UN response (UNOCC, UNOCHA, UNHCR, IFRC) three days before the cyclone hit Bangladesh and Myanmar, protecting countless lives and livelihoods.By harnessing the collective expertise of the WMO Community, the WCM delivers timely, accurate and actionable insights, supporting effective anticipatory measures for the UN and humanitarian agencies.WCM Community WebsiteWeather4UNRelated podcasts Related video On 14 May 2023, Tropical Cyclone (TC) Mocha made landfall in Myanmar and impacted Bangladesh. During part of its track, the cyclone was one of the strongest ever recorded in the Bay of Bengal. Significant evacuations were conducted ahead of the cyclone.

As a worldwide network of operational centres operated by WMO Members, the WMO Integrated Processing and Prediction System (WIPPS) makes defined products and services operationally available among WMO Members and relevant operational organizations for applications related to weather, climate, water and the environment.  High-quality products and services are generated using advanced science and technology such as Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) and Earth system modelling, better observations, improved data assimilation, increased computing power, and enhanced knowledge of weather dynamics and physics. These advancements have led to more accurate predictions, benefiting operational meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, and climatology. However, there is a significant disparity in forecasting capabilities among WMO Members, with developed Members benefiting more from these advancements compared to developing and least developed countries due to limited resources.   WIPPS serves as a framework to address this gap for sharing operationally meteorological, hydrological, oceanographic, and climatological data. WIPPS allows Members to access and utilise the most advanced numerical models’ data and applications, leveraging scientific and technological advancements in Earth system modelling. WIPPS is facilitated by the WMO Information System (WIS), which supports international data exchange. By expanding the range of designated and participating centres, WIPPS enhances the global data-processing and forecasting system, enabling a broader range of applications to strengthen the world’s weather, climate, water and related environmental services.  WIPPS was previously known as the Global Data-processing and Forecasting System (GDPFS).