A preventable crisis: El Niño and La Niña events need earlier responses and a renewed focus on prevention

This report on El Niño and La Niña calls for better preparedness, resilience building and global mobilisation to address climate change.  According to the report, El Niño is a modern day tragedy, which was preventable.

The publication offers several recommendations to address the current El Niño and forecasts La Niña and underlying vulnerabilities:

• Governments, should:
  • Ensure data is available to design an effective response.
  • Deliver a multi-sector El Niño response, including support for livelihoods and social safety nets.
  • Develop clear leadership, better preparedness, improved forecasting and increase accessibility of forecasts.
• UN agencies, should:
  • Use the Emergency Response Preparedness framework to ensure preparedness for La Niña.
  • Accelerate the development of the standard operating procedures for El Niño and La Niña.
  • Hold accountable Humanitarian Country Teams or Resident Coordinators for risk analysis and preparedness planning.