WMO wins Lui Prize for precluding natural disasters
By Honey Tsang
The World Meteorological Organization, a specialized agency under the United Nations whose mission since the 1950s has been to reduce weather-related casualties, was honored with the Lui Che Woo Prize — Prize for World Civilization, it was announced on Friday.
The Welfare Betterment Prize recognizes the WMO’s long-standing efforts in precluding disaster events. Over the past five decades, the WMO contributed to the reduction of loss of life worldwide arising from weather-related incidents.
Set up in 1950, the WMO has stitched together 191 members to form an international cooperation platform, which is used to facilitate accurate exchanges of global climate data and standardize weather forecasts. It has been lauded for its endeavor to help developing countries issue weather warnings to affected villages, and thus, minimize the havoc.
Lui Che-woo, the founder of the prize, said at today’s press conference that climate change and rising sea levels have been plaguing the global population. They are the biggest challenges confronting the world today.
[...]