On April 15–16, Almaty hosted a meeting, where representatives of hydrometeorological services and emergency agencies of Central Asian (CA) countries discussed the exchange of hydrometeorological information and establishment of regional early warning system on floods and droughts. The meeting was organized by the Center for Emergency Situations and Disaster Risk Reduction (CESDRR) in the framework of the regional project Climate risk management in Central Asia, implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Government.
The purpose of the meeting was to agree on a series of recommendations to improve the mechanism for the exchange of i) hydrometeorological information between the hydrometeorological services of CA countries; (ii) information on hydrometeorological hazards in transboundary areas between the emergency agencies of CA countries.
During the development of the recommendations, field studies were planned in all five CA countries at selected critical sites along the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers. Thus, in October 2024, CESDRR conducted the first field studies on the territory of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. According to the work plan, in April and May 2025, similar work will be conducted in Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.
Upon completion of the field studies, project experts will develop the Outcome Document with “Technical Solution for the Establishment of a Transboundary Early Warning System for Hydrological Disasters”, which will be submitted for approval at the Regional Forum of Emergency Authorities of the Central Asian countries in Dushanbe in October 2025.