Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 5
Early Warning Systems Defi ned
Ilan Kelman and Michael H. Glantz
Abstract
This chapter defi nes and describes early warning systems (EWS) by
examining structures and functions of EWS. The focus of this topic is on climate
change, but other hazards help to better illustrate and understand EWS in the con-
text of climate change. These include hazards which manifest rapidly, such as tsu-
namis, as well as creeping hazards which manifest slowly, such as drought. The
fundamental tenet is that each EWS needs to be viewed as a social process which
often involves technical components embedded in their social context. That leads to
a preference for a 'First Mile' approach for designing EWS, which involves com-
munities from the beginning of developing an EWS, rather than a 'Last Mile'
approach, which adds people and communities towards the end of the design pro-
cess. By keeping people and communities at the centre of an EWS from the begin-
ning, the EWS can contribute to daily life and livelihoods, thereby supporting wider
disaster risk reduction and sustainable development endeavours, rather than being a
separate system waiting to be triggered only when a hazard appears. Yet any EWS
has limitations. Those limitations need to be recognised and overcome through
other approaches, with possibilities being to consider 'medium warning' and 'late
warning' systems rather than just early warning.
Keywords
Early warning systems • EWS • Warnings
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