Dr. Abdulla Ahmed Al Mandous, President of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and Director-General of the UAE National Centre of Meteorology (NCM), chaired the Extraordinary Session of the World Meteorological Congress held at WMO headquarters in Geneva.

The session was attended by António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, along with WMO Regional Association Presidents and senior UN officials.

The high-level meeting centered on accelerating the implementation of the “Early Warnings for All” (EW4ALL) initiative and strengthening strategic coordination across the UN system to ensure that every person on Earth is protected by life-saving early-warning systems by 2027.

In his opening address, Dr. Al Mandous said that the session marked a defining milestone in advancing the global early-warning agenda first championed by Guterres.

He noted the Secretary-General's call to action to ensure every person on Earth is protected by early-warning systems. Dr. Al Mandous noted that this call elevated early warnings to the top of the global agenda and inspired a shared sense of urgency across nations.

Dr. Al Mandous reaffirmed that WMO and its Members fully endorse and remain steadfastly committed to this vision, considering EW4ALL a cornerstone of climate resilience and an essential pillar for peace, progress, and planetary security.

He stressed the need to move “from ad-hoc cooperation to formal, strategic alignment” across the UN system to deliver on this vision effectively. He proposed enhancing WMO’s institutional engagement with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to integrate its weather, climate, and water activities with broader sustainable development goals.

He also called for closer coordination with specialised UN agencies, including the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), to ensure harmonised action and unified policies on shared priorities.

Dr. Al Mandous reaffirmed that “every dollar invested in early-warning systems yields nine dollars in benefits and countless saved lives, making it both a moral duty and an economic necessity.”

He reiterated WMO’s guiding vision of “One Planet, One System, One Community,” emphasising that under this shared mission, WMO and its Members will continue to strengthen partnerships across the UN system to ensure that timely, accurate weather, climate, and water information reaches every community on Earth.

Following his address, UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered the keynote remarks, commending the WMO as “the quiet force that illuminates all the rational climate decisions we take.” He underscored that the world would not benefit from the warnings and guidance that protect communities, save millions of lives, and prevent billions of dollars in losses each year without the long-term monitoring and scientific precision provided by meteorological services.

He reaffirmed that the climate crisis remains an existential threat requiring urgent, united global action.