Early warning systems saves millions of lives

Early warning systems (EWS) are a critical life-saving tool for floods, droughts, storms, bushfires and other hazards. Recorded economic losses linked to extreme hydro-meteorological events have increased nearly 50 times over the past five decades, but the global loss of life has decreased significantly, by a factor of about 10, thus millions of lives are being saved (Fig. 1). This has been attributed to advancements in monitoring and forecasting linked to effective emergency preparedness and response planning on the national and local levels (Box 1).