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Worldwide natural hazard monitoring systems

A number of organisations monitor natural hazards around the world:

  • In 2005 the UK government created the Natural Hazards Working Group to advise on establishing better early warning systems. A number of NERC scientists sit on this group.

  • The Global Seismographic Network uses 128 stations around the world to detect significant earthquakes and report in near real-time.

  • The UK and 61 other countries are developing the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) to integrate many environmental monitoring systems, from satellites and aircraft, to buoys and ground-based instruments, creating a global early warning system for natural hazards, such as droughts, hurricanes, spread of diseases, forest fires and flooding.

  • The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assesses research into climate change, and strategies to adaptation to or mitigation the effects of such change. The IPCC is recognised worldwide as the definitive source of information on climate change and has published three major reports to date. A fourth is in production.

  • Global Monitoring for Environment & Security (GMES)
    The European Commission and European Space Agency are developing a system to monitor and better manage the environment, including improving the risk management of environmental hazards such as earthquakes, landslides and subsidence.

  • World Meteorological Organisation (WMO)
    The majority of natural disasters are either weather or water related. The WMO operates a global network of forecasting centres that can provide early warnings on hazards such as hurricanes, floods, droughts, thunderstorms, heat waves, landslides, storm surges, sand storms, fires, locust swarms and volcanic eruptions.