- City leaders from Curitiba, Paris, Quezon City, Cape Town, Miami, and Mumbai launch C40 Taskforce to coordinate responses to extreme weather.
- C40 aims to establish effective early warning systems and emergency preparedness plans across all 97 member cities by the end of 2027, helping protect millions of residents from deadly heat waves, flooding, storms, and drought, while also tackling the root cause of the climate crisis.
London (2 November 2026) – C40 Cities has set out an ambition for all 97 of its member cities to have effective early warning systems and emergency preparedness plans in place by the end of 2027, helping protect millions of people from increasingly dangerous extreme weather.
The initiative aims to make early warning systems a basic standard of protection for people living in some of the world’s largest cities, ensuring residents receive timely alerts about approaching dangers and that local authorities have practical plans in place to protect lives, homes, and livelihoods.
The potential to save lives is significant. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), countries with comprehensive early warning systems covering most of their populations experience nearly six times fewer disaster-related deaths than those with limited coverage.
This need for urgent action comes as a potentially powerful El Niño threatens to disrupt weather patterns around the world, bringing heightened risks of flooding, drought, extreme heat, and other dangerous conditions. While El Niño is a natural climate phenomenon, it is unfolding against a backdrop of human-caused global heating, which is increasing the severity of many climate extremes. The combined risks underline the importance of protecting communities from immediate threats while rapidly reducing the greenhouse gas emissions driving long-term climate change.
To help accelerate preparations, mayors from Curitiba, Paris, Quezon City, Cape Town, Miami, and Mumbai established a new C40 Mayoral Taskforce on ‘Super’ El Niño and Extreme Weather.
Cities are already demonstrating what effective preparedness can achieve. In Ahmedabad, India, a 2018 study estimated that the city’s Heat Action Plan, introduced in 2013, has prevented approximately 1,190 deaths annually. In eThekwini, South Africa, community-based early warnings were credited with saving between 250 and 400 lives during devastating floods in April 2022.
In Quezon City, Philippines, an innovative early warning system is helping protect residents from flooding, storms, and other extreme weather. Introduced in 2020, iRISE UP combines real-time weather monitoring, localised risk maps, and forecasting to identify communities in danger and support early evacuations. The system has issued more than 1,300 weather advisories and helped authorities coordinate the pre-emptive evacuation of more than 10,000 residents annually, demonstrating how technology and emergency preparedness can work together to protect lives.
The taskforce will bring together political leadership from across C40’s global network to strengthen cities’ responses to extreme weather, share proven solutions, and support the ambition to establish effective early warning systems and emergency response plans across all member cities by the end of 2027.
Eduardo Pimentel, the Mayor of Curitiba, said: “Curitiba has spent decades showing how nature can help protect a city from floods and droughts. Our parks, drainage systems, and urban forests are part of that legacy.
“But as extreme weather intensifies, we need to go further. We’re strengthening early warning and response systems, improving water management, and investing in the communities most at risk.
“No city can meet this challenge alone. By working together, we can build on what works and make the case for the investment our residents need.”
Mayor of Quezon City, Joy Belmonte, said: “When extreme weather strikes, every minute matters. In Quezon City, we’ve shown how early warning systems can save lives, giving communities the information and support they need to prepare before disaster strikes.
“Our iRISE UP system brings together real-time weather monitoring, localised risk maps, and emergency planning to help us identify dangers and act early. Since introducing it in 2020, we’ve trained more than 17,000 people in disaster response and are now targeting zero extreme-weather-related casualties.
“Every city should have the tools to protect its residents. By working together through this taskforce, we can share what we’ve learned and help more cities put effective early warning and preparedness systems in place.”
Mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, said: “Parisians know what extreme summer heat feels like, and we know the risks are growing.
“We’re acting now to protect our residents, expanding cool spaces, creating greener neighbourhoods, and preparing our city for hotter summers.
“By working with mayors around the world, we can share solutions that protect people today while tackling the causes of the climate crisis.
“As the EU has launched its first integrated framework for climate resilience and heatwave plans, we need to work at all levels of government to prevent further heat-related deaths.”
Eileen Higgins, Mayor of Miami, said: “Hurricanes, dangerous storm surges, and flooding are realities our communities must prepare for every year. When a storm is approaching, getting accurate information to residents and helping them act on it can save lives.
“We’re strengthening our city’s resilience through emergency alerts, evacuation planning, and better coordination of the services people depend on when disaster strikes. But as the climate changes, we know we need to keep improving.
“Every city should be able to give its residents the warning and protection they deserve. By working together through this taskforce, we can share what works and help more communities prepare for the extreme weather ahead.”
Mayor of Freetown and C40 Co-chair, Yvone Aki-Sawyerr, said: “This is a crucial moment for cities to deepen city-to-city cooperation and unlock vital finance and resources at the local level, enabling leaders to accelerate immediate response efforts and integrate adaptation and mitigation to protect residents from future extreme weather.
By championing peer-to-peer collaboration and removing financial barriers to early warning systems, this taskforce ensures that the collective voice of city leaders drives a coordinated, well-resourced response across all geographies to ‘Super’ El Niño and future extreme weather events.”
Mark Watts, the Executive Director at C40 Cities, said: “Extreme weather is putting lives and livelihoods at risk in cities around the world. With ‘Super’ El Niño now exacerbating the impacts of climate change, preparation has never been more important.
“Early warning and response systems are highly effective and affordable ways to save lives. But warnings must be backed by plans that reach the people who need help most.
“These mayors are coming together to show what works, accelerate preparations, and help other cities protect their residents from the growing threats of extreme weather.”
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