Key messages- i) Strengthening Early Warning Systems for Adaptation (EWSA) helps countries prepare for extreme weather events, now and in the future, and improves pathways towards sustainable development. ii) Past and present climate data and information, along with medium range forecasts, help identify evolving trends in extreme hazardous events. iii) Transdisciplinary collaboration, meaningful participation and community engagement are critical for efficient and effective EWSA. iv) Significant improvements to disaster responses can be achieved by reinforcing both scientists’ and stakeholders’ capacity to access, communicate and integrate climate information into risk management policies and practices to improve resilience. v) • Efforts need to be stepped up to reduce the financial and resource disparities in EWSA capacity among countries and regions.