1 August 2012: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Environmental Alert Service (GEAS) has released a report on early warning systems, introducing the basic concepts of early warning systems, reviewing existing early warning and monitoring systems, and looking at current gaps and needs for early warning systems.

The 70-page report, titled “Early Warning Systems: A State of the Art Analysis and Future Directions,” includes an overview of the role of Earth observation, including for ongoing, rapid onset, and slow onset environmental threats, including climate variability. It also provides an inventory of current early warning systems for ongoing, rapid onset, and slow onset environmental threats.

The report concludes that early warning technologies are mature in certain fields, but not yet in others. The report formulates the following recommendations: filling existing gaps in early warning systems; building capacity in the development of early warning systems, particularly in developing countries; and bridging the gaps between science and decision making. [Publication: Early Warning Systems: A State of the Art Analysis and Future Directions]