Message of Mami Mizutori for World Meteorological Day 2022

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In 1736, famous statesman and inventor Benjamin Franklin advised the fire-threatened people of Philadelphia that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

Some ideas lay at the heart of the human condition; and these famous words are as relevant today as they were hundreds of years ago. They speak to the power of early warning and early action, which is not only the theme of this year’s World Meteorological Day (WMD), but also the theme for the International Day for Disaster Reduction, which will be held on October 13th.  

Our two organizations chose this theme for a simple reason: early warning and early action save lives. And in a world of rising disasters, in both frequency and intensity, early warnings and early action will save even more lives. The evidence is indisputable and the need is clear.

We are grateful to the World Meteorological Organization for collaboration toward the important goal of mitigating risk from climate and change and extreme weather. In particular, we look forward to our jointly-established Centre of Excellence for Climate and Disaster Resilience, to advance joint-research, policies, and capacity-building.

As we look at the year to come, there are many additional opportunities to make progress on these fronts. In particular, UNDRR’s Global Platform, to take place in Bali Indonesia is one such entry-point - and we encourage your active participation in the many plenaries and thematic sessions. 

Our plan is to continue spreading an important message, which resonates highly with the theme message of this year’s international day: disasters may not be our preference, but with strategic early warning and early action, they don’t have to devastate.

Thank you.

Mami Mizutori

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction