Introduction - Reducing Disaster: Early Warning Systems for Climate Change - page 5

a worldwide early warning system for all natural hazards. The 2010 UNFCC Cancun
Agreements invite “all Parties to enhance…climate change related disaster risk
reduction strategies (such as) early warning systems.” In 2012, the outcome docu-
ment of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20)
called for countries to “build resilience to disasters with a renewed sense of urgency”
and “ensure early warning systems (EWS) and disaster risk assessments are a key
part of disaster resilience efforts at all levels.” The United Nations High Level Panel
on Post 2015 Development Goals has even encouraged the incorporation of disaster
risk reduction into the post-2015 development agenda (UN 2013 ).

1.2 Book Summary

This topic explores the feasibility of using early warning systems to prevent losses
from climate change associated hazards - such as hurricanes, fog, fl oods, droughts,
and fi res. Chapters in this topic highlight specifi c components of the early warning
process - including ways to identify vulnerable communities, predict hazards, and
deliver information. Satellite images illustrate the transnational impact of disasters.
Case studies provide detailed examples of current early warning systems, and highlight
gaps in knowledge and coverage.
This topic is unique in bringing together contributions from authors in different
fi elds and from different parts of the world - Africa, Asia, Europe, and North
America. Despite widespread calls for early warning systems, there has long been a
lack of dialogue between fi elds. Discourse often occurs within the boundaries of
specifi c disciplines - meteorology, anthropology, and political science for example.
There is limited coherence in activities and policy frameworks related to climate
change adaptation and disaster risk reduction (Mitchell and Van Aals 2008 ). To
encourage cross-disciplinary learning, this topic brings together authors with differ-
ent areas of expertise. Each discipline brings a unique approach, along with fi eld-
specifi c terminology or biases. But the different perspectives also offer unique tools,
which can be used to better early warning systems.

1.3 The Challenge

The fi rst three chapters of this topic focus on the challenge before us - hazards and
human vulnerability to hazards. In Chap. 2 , Sandra Banholzer, James Kossin, and
Simon Donner review the links between climate change and extreme events.
Generalizations are hard to make and predictions are limited by uncertainties in sci-
ence. Formal detection of trends, for example, is constrained by the length and qual-
ity of the historical data records and uncertain understanding of natural variability.
However, the latest review of scientifi c data makes clear that climate change is
linked to increasing intensity of droughts and precipitation, and increasing