In his comments, Guterres thanked the 13 member organizations of the Alliance for Hydromet Development for highlighting the urgent need to close the capacity gap on high-quality weather forecasts, early warning systems and climate information. This is essential for building resilience in the face of climate change.

As many as 23,000 lives could be saved per year and potential benefits of at least US$162 billion per year could be received by improving weather forecasts, early warning systems and climate information.

According to Guterres, today´s large gaps remain in basic weather data, particularly in small island developing States and least developed countries.

For such a reason, Guterres called on donors, the multilateral development banks and private finance institutions to work with vulnerable nations on the development of innovative financial instruments to support resilience-building.

Weather and climate services, such as early warning systems, are essential and cost-effective adaptation measures. Just 24 hours warning of a storm or heatwave can reduce harm by 30%.

pgh/Pll/msm / ifb