Natural hazard alerts strengthened through shared experiences
Extreme weather and climate events are becoming more frequent and intense, putting lives and livelihoods at risk. This has further heightened the need for more robust forecasts and early warning systems. The EU-funded MEDEWSA(opens in new window) project was launched to help achieve this aim, through identifying and addressing gaps in coverage from northern Europe to northern Africa (Egypt) and eastern Africa (Ethiopia). “Our aim is to build on existing early warning systems, bringing together regions facing similar hazardous events to provide actionable impact and financial forecasts,” explains project member Elena Xoplaki from the Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change(opens in new window), Italy.
Twinning regions with similar climatic challenges
Central to this approach was the concept of twins. This involved pairing regions with different geographic and climatological contexts that faced similar challenges and hazardous events. The aim was for these twins to exchange knowledge and develop new tools together, resulting in more accurate warnings. The Attica region in Greece and three national parks in Ethiopia for example worked together to develop wildfire early warnings, based on shared monitoring and forecasting tools. Italy’s Venice was twinned with Alexandria in Egypt’s Nile Delta, as both face threats from coastal flooding and sea level rise. Meanwhile, the Košice region in Slovakia joined forces with Tbilisi in Georgia, as both are highly exposed to flash floods and landslides. Finally, Catalonia, Spain was twinned with Sweden, as both have experienced a strong increase in wildfire activity in recent years, through a combination of drought and excessive heat. “In each of these four twins, we began by identifying what early warning systems are out there, and what areas are currently being covered and where potential gaps are,” says Xoplaki. “From there, we identified, through a co-design and co-creation approach, the unmet monitoring needs of key users and stakeholders. This included decision-makers as well as first responders and citizens.”
Movement of technology and knowledge
A wide range of useful tools has emerged from this highly cooperative approach. Project partners, for example, have published a handbook(opens in new window) of best practices and warning messaging templates relating to natural hazards. This will help authorities to select relevant messaging for specific end users such as, say, farmers or fishermen, in the event of an identified threat. Additionally, MEDEWSA has produced numerous publications covering topics including strengthening early warnings with artificial intelligence and machine learning-based tools. Analyses of the impacts on and damage to European and African forests from heat and drought have also been published. Training(opens in new window) and learning activities are freely accessible online. “Our twinning approach has encouraged the movement of technology and knowledge,” notes Xoplaki. “New monitoring methods from Athens have been picked up by Ethiopia for example.” New methods of analysing heatwaves have also been applied in the Po River basin in Italy.
Socio-economic impacts of hazard events
The MEDEWSA project, which runs until October 2026, is currently working to finalise the development of a decision support and dissemination system (DSDS). This will incorporate socio-economic impacts of forecast hazard events, as well as early warnings. “The idea is to prepare a system that can be easily used, and through which information can be shared with everyone to save lives and protect critical infrastructure,” adds Xoplaki. A follow up EU-funded project, named ARTEMis, is currently under way. This project will focus more on providing alerts for cross-border hazards and move towards standardised risk and vulnerability assessments. In this way, the MEDEWSA project will play a central role in contributing to and achieving the UN’s Early Warnings for All(opens in new window) initiative aim of ensuring that everyone worldwide is protected from hazardous weather, water or climate extremes through early warning systems by the end of 2027.
