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In First Public Statement, New UN Weather Chief Calls to Bolster Warning Systems for Extreme Weather 

A base of a house boat lies on a dried patch of the Jhelum river in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 16 January 2024. (EPA)
A base of a house boat lies on a dried patch of the Jhelum river in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 16 January 2024. (EPA)
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In First Public Statement, New UN Weather Chief Calls to Bolster Warning Systems for Extreme Weather 

A base of a house boat lies on a dried patch of the Jhelum river in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 16 January 2024. (EPA)
A base of a house boat lies on a dried patch of the Jhelum river in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 16 January 2024. (EPA)

The new head of the United Nations weather agency said Tuesday that strengthening early warning systems that monitor when and where extreme weather will happen is a key priority for her administration that will help reduce the risk of natural disasters that are exacerbated by climate change.

Celeste Saulo, an Argentine and the first female secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization said the agency will enhance the accessibility of weather data and make timely and lifesaving information available to all.

“We stand at the intersection of inequality and climate change, and our strategies must reflect the urgency of the times,” she said in introductory remarks at a press briefing for UN agencies.

Early warning systems make it possible to forecast weather occurrences by monitoring the atmosphere in real time. They help people prepare for potentially fatal events including floods, heat waves and tropical storms.

As natural disasters have gotten more potent and frequent due to human-caused climate change, the need for early warning systems has increased. But only half of the world’s countries have adequate early warning systems, according to a WMO study, causing thousands of deaths in climate disasters in vulnerable regions.

In 2022, the UN launched a project to put every person in range of early weather-warning systems within five years.

Saulo said the WMO, together with other organizations, has identified 30 less developed countries — such as Guyana and Haiti — that are prone to weather hazards to develop early warning systems there.

“Adapting to climate change is not a choice, but an essential necessity,” she said. “It is about building resilient communities, especially in the most vulnerable regions, capable of resisting to and recovering from climate-related disasters.”

Lack of capacity and funding, including for maintaining weather stations and taking part in global scientific activities, makes changing weather extremes in the Global South poorly understood, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London.

“Coming from Argentina, Professor Saulo will be acutely aware of the fact that the global south is the worst affected by climate change,” Otto said. “By addressing this scientific shortfall, enabling global South countries to record and share data, the WMO can help vulnerable communities prepare for life on a warmer, harsher planet.”

Saulo took up her position as WMO Secretary-General at the beginning of January.

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Tunisia Women Herb Harvesters Struggle with Drought and Heat

A woman harvests aromatic and medicinal plants in the mountains of Tbainia village near the city of Ain Drahem, in the northwest of Tunisia on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
A woman harvests aromatic and medicinal plants in the mountains of Tbainia village near the city of Ain Drahem, in the northwest of Tunisia on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
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Tunisia Women Herb Harvesters Struggle with Drought and Heat

A woman harvests aromatic and medicinal plants in the mountains of Tbainia village near the city of Ain Drahem, in the northwest of Tunisia on November 6, 2024. (AFP)
A woman harvests aromatic and medicinal plants in the mountains of Tbainia village near the city of Ain Drahem, in the northwest of Tunisia on November 6, 2024. (AFP)

On a hillside in Tunisia's northwestern highlands, women scour a sun-scorched field for the wild herbs they rely on for their livelihoods, but droughts and rising temperatures are making it ever harder to find the precious plants.

Yet the harvesters say they have little choice but to struggle on, as there are few opportunities in a country hit hard by unemployment, inflation and high living costs.

"There is a huge difference between the situation in the past and what we are living now," said Mabrouka Athimni, who heads a local collective of women herb harvesters named "Al Baraka" ("Blessing").

"We're earning half, sometimes just a third, of what we used to."

Tunisia produces around 10,000 tons of aromatic and medicinal herbs each year, according to official figures.

Rosemary accounts for more than 40 percent of essential oil exports, mainly destined for French and American markets.

For the past 20 years, Athimni's collective has supported numerous families in Tbainia, a village near the city of Ain Draham in a region with much higher poverty rates than the national average.

Women, who make up around 70 percent of the agricultural workforce, are the main breadwinners for their households in Tbainia.

- 'Yield less' -

Tunisia is in its sixth year of drought and has seen its water reserves dwindle, as temperatures have soared past 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas during the summer.

The country has 36 dams, mostly in the northwest, but they are currently just 20 percent full -- a record low in recent decades.

The Tbainia women said they usually harvested plants like eucalyptus, rosemary and mastic year-round, but shrinking water resources and rare rainfall have siphoned oil output.

"The mountain springs are drying up, and without snow or rain to replenish them, the herbs yield less oil," said Athimni.

Mongia Soudani, a 58-year-old harvester and mother of three, said her work was her household's only income. She joined the collective five years ago.

"We used to gather three or four large sacks of herbs per harvest," she said. "Now, we're lucky to fill just one."

Forests in Tunisia cover 1.25 million hectares, about 10 percent of them in the northwestern region.

Wildfires fueled by drought and rising temperatures have ravaged these woodlands, further diminishing the natural resources that women like Soudani depend on.

In the summer of last year, wildfires destroyed around 1,120 hectares near Tbainia.

"Parts of the mountain were consumed by flames, and other women lost everything," Soudani recalled.

To adapt to some climate-driven challenges, the women received training from international organizations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to preserve forest resources.

Still, Athimni struggles to secure a viable income.

"I can't fulfil my clients' orders anymore because the harvest has been insufficient," she said.

The collective has lost a number of its customers as a result, she said.

- 'No longer sustainable' -

A recent study by the Tunisian Forum for Economic and Social Rights (FTDES) highlighted how climate-induced damage to forests had severely impacted local communities.

"Women in particular suffer the consequences as their activities become more difficult and arduous," the study said.

Tunisia has ratified key international environmental agreements, including the 2015 Paris Climate Accord.

But environmental justice researcher Ines Labiadh, who oversaw the FTDES study, said implementation "remains incomplete".

In the face of these woes, the Tbainia harvesters, like many women working in the sector, will be forced to seek alternative livelihoods, said Labiadh.

"They have no choice but to diversify their activities," she said. "Relying solely on natural resources is no longer sustainable."

Back in the field, Bachra Ben Salah strives to collect whatever herbs she can lay her hands on.

"There's nothing we can do but wait for God's mercy," she said.