Following discussions at the Regional Ecological Summit 2026 in Astana, Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, highlighted water-related risks and early warning systems as critical priorities for Central Asia in an exclusive interview with Qazinform News Agency, while outlining the region’s most vulnerable sectors and the growing importance of coordinated climate action.
What are the most pressing climate risks currently affecting Central Asia, and how do you see these challenges evolving over the next decade? Central Asia is one of the clearest examples of why climate risks must be understood through water. Glacier retreat, changing snow cover, drought, floods and shifting seasonal runoff are affecting agriculture, hydropower, ecosystems and regional stability.
There has been welcome momentum through the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation, the new World Day for Glaciers, and the broader international focus on mountains and glaciers as water towers. This is helping place Central Asia’s water challenges more firmly within the global climate agenda.
But we still need stronger integration of cryosphere science, hydrology, adaptation planning and finance. How can stronger early warning systems help countries in Central Asia better prepare for and respond to extreme weather events and climate-related disasters?
Central Asia faces a complex mix of hazards - flash floods, droughts, heatwaves, glacial lake outburst floods and severe storms. Early warning systems allow countries to act to prevent a hazard becoming a disaster. They give governments, emergency services and communities time to prepare - whether that means evacuating people, protecting infrastructure, adjusting water management, or safeguarding crops and livestock.
In practical terms, stronger systems can make a difference in several ways: • Earlier and more accurate forecasts, including for rapidly evolving events like floods and storms • Better monitoring of glaciers, snowpack and river systems, which is critical for Central Asia • Impact-based warnings, so authorities understand not just the weather, but what it will do • Stronger coordination across borders, because many risks - especially water-related - are transboundary