Teaser
The Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO), joined the global community in celebrating World Meteorological Day on Sunday, 23 March 2025, united under the theme ‘Closing the Early Warning Gap Together’. As the Caribbean continues to face compounded crises, this year’s observance of World Meteorological Day highlights the importance of partnerships in ensuring that everyone in our Region can access timely, reliable, and actionable early warnings. The Caribbean is on the frontline of climate change, experiencing rising sea levels, rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones, devastating floods, excessive heat, severe weather and dangerous lightning strikes, and droughts. These hazards pose an increasing threat to lives, livelihoods, and economies. The United Nations Early Warnings for All initiative, spearheaded by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), has made significant strides in closing the early warning gap. As of 2024, 108 countries, including several in the Caribbean, have reported improved multi-hazard early warning system capacities. For example, the excellent forecasts, early warnings, stakeholder engagements, anticipatory action and preparedness greatly reduced the loss of life during the passage of the catastrophic Hurricane Beryl, the earliest Category 5 Hurricane in the Atlantic and Caribbean. However, much remains to be done to ensure that early warnings reach every individual in harm’s way, particularly in Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS), where communities are disproportionately affected by climate change.
