LONDON — A coalition of U.N. agencies, aid groups and researchers is urging governments worldwide to unify early warning systems that track weather, conflict and market shocks, aiming to fortify food security. Backers say shared data standards and pre-funded response plans can turn alerts into earlier cash, supplies and policy moves before hunger spreads, Dec. 27, 2025.
The stakes keep rising. In 2024, more than 295 million people across 53 countries and territories experienced acute hunger, according to the Global Report on Food Crises 2025. Humanitarian officials say better forecasting will not end wars or stop droughts, but faster, clearer signals can help protect crops and incomes — and keep a food security shock from tipping into famine.
Food security depends on ending “patchwork” warnings
A September paper from Chatham House argues that while early-warning systems can reduce food insecurity, today’s patchwork of tools and governance is “not fit for purpose.” It calls for shareable, interoperable data; clearer roles across institutions; and pooled financing that is not reliant on a single source.
“Unifying” does not mean replacing specialized tools with one monolithic platform. It means connecting climate and river forecasts with crop and pasture monitoring, conflict and displacement tracking, and market price surveillance so decision-makers see the same risk picture and act from the same playbook. For food security, that integration matters because crises are rarely single-cause: drought can cut harvests, violence can close roads, and price spikes can erase a family’s buying power within days.
Supporters say warnings must also be tied to action that is agreed in advance. The World Food Programme describes its anticipatory action approach as financing measures before extreme weather hits, using forecasts and pre-set triggers to move quickly. In food security terms, that can mean cash to buy staples before prices rise, fodder and veterinary support to prevent livestock losses, or early distribution of drought-tolerant seeds so farmers do not miss a planting window.
Early risk signals are already pointing to places where time is running out. The latest Food and Agriculture Organization-World Food Programme Hunger Hotspots outlook warns that acute food insecurity is deepening in 16 hotspots and that funding shortfalls are compounding conflict, economic shocks and extreme weather. Advocates for integration say consistent triggers and timelines can help donors and governments shift scarce resources sooner, rather than after malnutrition surges.
A longer timeline, now under pressure
The drive to connect warning systems builds on work that began well before this year’s debate over interoperability. In a March 2022 announcement carried by UN Climate Change News, Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Early warnings and action save lives,” as the U.N. set a goal of protecting everyone with early warning systems within five years.
The following year, the International Telecommunication Union detailed the technology and investment needs behind that push in its “Early warning systems for all by 2027” briefing, including a $3.1 billion targeted investment estimate for 2023-27. “When disaster strikes, people and communities can turn to technology as a lifeline,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.
And in 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Meteorological Organization highlighted how floods, heat waves and drought can wipe out harvests and livestock in the FAO-WMO partnership on agriculture early warnings, warning that gaps in coverage and response plans can leave farmers exposed — a direct hit to food security.
Proponents of a unified approach say the next leap is governance: agreeing who owns the analysis, who communicates it, and who pays to act early. Without those decisions, they argue, even sophisticated forecasts will arrive too late to protect food security where the next shock hits hardest.
