UN’s Guterres calls for extreme heat early warning systems: COP29

(Baku, Azerbaijan) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday called for early warning systems to protect people from extreme heat in what he described as this “era of climate catastrophe.”

“This is on track to be the hottest year in the history books. It has scorched countries and communities with temperatures that push the limits of human endurance,” he said in an address at COP29 in Baku.

“And around the world, we’ve seen record rains and hurricanes, historic fires, and deadly droughts,” he added.

His comments come just two weeks after more than 200 people in Valencia died and infrastructure, housing and communities were left wrecked after more than a year’s worth of rain lashed down in less than eight hours. Many are angry and have blamed the destruction and deaths on the Spanish regional government for not raising a public alert in time.

Communities in Spain were once again put on alert on Tuesday for heavy rain, high waves, and strong winds in the Balearic Islands, Catalonia and Valencia — so soon after the previous deluge that road clearance and rebuilding is still being carried out in Valencia, and children only returned to school on Monday.

Scientists have long warned that storms would become more frequent and more intense as a result of the burning of gas, oil, coal and trees.

Early warning systems provide an almost ten-fold return, said Guterres, in a year which has shown that climate calamity is now “commonplace.”

Standard occupational safety measures that respond to extreme heat could save over US$360 billion a year, he said.

“In this era of climate catastrophe, early warning systems and protection from extreme heat are not luxuries. They are necessities. And sound investments,” he stressed.

Yet nearly half the countries in the world do not have multi-hazard early warning systems in place, Guterres warned.

“Too often, the basic data to create these systems is unavailable. On average, least developed countries and small island developing states have less than ten percent of the data they need for effective alert systems.”

There needs to be a major effort to increase financing for early warning systems, especially for Small Island Developing States and the least developed countries, he said.

This could be through improved bilateral and multilateral funding but also private finance, particularly through public-private partnerships, he suggested.

Access to early warning system finance also needs improving, he said.

He urged COP29 to build on the momentum, and deliver a new climate finance goal that sees a jump in funding for climate action.

We are “in the home stretch of a brutal year,” he said. “As the climate crisis accelerates, so must we.”

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