One of the impacts of climate change being discussed at the UN conference "COP27" currently being held in Egypt is the intensification of weather disasters such as heavy rains.


The United Nations has announced a new action plan to disseminate the "early warning system" that conveys the risk of such disasters worldwide by 2027, five years from now.

This action plan was created by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and announced in conjunction with the United Nations conference "COP27" to discuss climate change countermeasures.



In order to spread the "early warning system" all over the world by 2027, five years from now, the plan calls for disaster risk assessment and awareness-raising activities such as the preparation of hazard maps in developing countries, observation and forecasting of meteorological phenomena such as the installation of radars. We are planning to make improvements and build a network to transmit risk information.



Furthermore, it was estimated that approximately $3.1 billion, or approximately 430 billion yen in Japanese yen, would be required to proceed with this plan.



WMO and others are particularly affected by climate change, and the risk of disasters is increasing in developing countries such as Africa and Asia, where the introduction of systems has not progressed. It is said that it is possible to avoid economic losses that greatly exceed the costs.



Regarding the dissemination of the "Early Warning System", 50 countries, including Japan, issued a joint statement and confirmed that they would support it. .

Participants from various countries pay attention to Japan's latest technology at the pavilion

At the COP27 pavilion, which introduced Japan's latest technology, a seminar was held to introduce the technology of Japanese companies working to reduce damage from natural disasters, attracting the attention of participants from various countries.



At a seminar to introduce Japanese technology held at the COP pavilion on the 10th of this month, Hiroshi Ono, Deputy Director-General for the Global Environment at the Ministry of the Environment, said, "In Japan, a system has been introduced to warn people of heatstroke and abnormal torrential rain. Japan's technology, which is prone to natural disasters, can contribute to the world," he said.



Next, he introduced a case where a company that provides weather information in Japan installed the latest compact radar in Vietnam and is using it for information when announcing flood risks and warnings.



A Belgian researcher who participated in the seminar said, "It was very interesting, and I thought it was a suitable technology to be exported to the world. This is not only for combating climate change, but actually saving lives in high-risk areas." It is also very efficient to save the



Also, a female researcher from India said, ``Japan has a very good early warning system and should use it to play a leading role in helping other countries.''

Lessons learned from disasters in Japan Developed technology is in operation in more than 20 countries

Dissemination of the required "early warning system" to developing countries.



There are also cases where technologies developed based on the lessons learned from the tragic disaster that occurred in Japan have been adopted by other countries.



In 2013, a major marine radar manufacturer in Nishinomiya City, Hyogo Prefecture, developed a compact weather radar with a diameter of about 1 meter, about one-seventh the size of large weather radars.



This radar is cheaper and easier to install than large radars, which cost about 30 million yen each and cost several hundred million yen, so it is operated in more than 20 countries around the world, including Vietnam and Singapore.



The trigger for the manufacturer to develop a weather radar was a disaster that occurred in the Hanshin area, where the head office is located.



In 2008, five people, including elementary school students and nursery school children, died when the water level of the Togagawa River, which runs through Kobe City, rose sharply due to localized heavy rain.



It was the so-called "guerrilla rainstorm" that was difficult to predict at the time.



Engineers heartbroken by this disaster decided to create a weather radar that could observe heavy rainfall in urban areas.



In addition, we developed it in two and a half years by making use of the miniaturization know-how that we had cultivated for ship radars.



While general large-scale radar analyzes in units of “kilometers,” the developed compact radar can analyze in high-definition units of “75 meters,” and has the ability to grasp the movement of rain in detail. Says.



This compact radar, which was developed in response to local disasters, ended up being used for disaster countermeasures in developing countries due to factors such as cost.



Takuo Kashiwa, Furuno Electric's head of weather radar development, said, "We believe that our technology can be used anywhere in the world as torrential rains increase due to global warming. We believe that our technology can be of use, while taking advantage of its compact size and low cost. , I hope that we can help build an 'early warning system' by expanding it to developing countries through government agencies."

Weather disasters become more severe due to global warming Disasters will occur all over the world this year

While it is pointed out that weather disasters will become more severe due to global warming, disasters are occurring one after another around the world, mainly in developing countries.



According to a summary by September 5, such as Leuven Catholic University in Belgium, at least 6,347 people died in 79 countries, 78% of which were caused by 'floods' and 'storms'.



Of these, India experienced massive flooding from May to August and Pakistan from June due to heavy rains, killing more than 1,000 people each.



In Pakistan, it was said that 1/3 of the land was submerged.



In April, about 500 people died in floods and landslides in various parts of South Africa, mainly in the port city of Durban in the southeastern part of the country.



In Brazil, floods and landslides caused by heavy rains killed more than 380 people in February and May, while in the Philippines, a typhoon that landed in April stagnated, causing landslides and flooding, resulting in about 290 deaths. has died.

Expert: It is essential to make use of Japan's experience in disaster prevention in developing countries

Experts point out that it is essential to make use of Japan's experience of facing many natural disasters in building disaster prevention systems in developing countries.



Kimio Takeya, Special Advisor to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Disaster Risk Reduction, who was involved in formulating the United Nations framework for disaster risk reduction, said, "In developing countries such as Asia, populations are concentrated in cities without implementing flood control measures. Climate change is also affecting It is a situation where risks are increasing to the point where there is nothing we can do about it."



He added, "Few developed countries have megacities at the mouth of rivers like Japan, and Japan's history of disaster prevention, which has built prosperity through flood control, is a model for developing countries. It is safe to say that there are almost none in developed countries," he said, pointing out that it is essential to make use of Japan's experience in building disaster prevention systems in developing countries.



He also said, "Japan's support for disaster prevention will lead to Japan's national interest, such as becoming a market for selling products when the country overcomes its vulnerability and develops its economy."