National Readiness Doesn’t Equal Public Confidence

Feature image: Individual preparedness for extreme weather does not always align with national institutional readiness. This map categorizes 68 low- and middle-income countries into four groups based on ND-GAIN Readiness scores and the percentage of people who report feeling prepared for extreme weather. The ND-GAIN Readiness Index, developed by the University of Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative, measures how prepared a country is to adapt to climate change. 
Credit: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. 

As climate-driven extreme weather intensifies, preparedness has become a defining issue for vulnerable nations. A new Climate Note from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, “Exploring Climate Preparedness in Low- and Middle-Income Countries,” analyzes preparedness across 68 countries and reveals a surprising finding: stronger national systems do not necessarily translate into people feeling ready for climate impacts. 

Key Highlights 

Only 13 out of 68 countries surveyed had a majority of people who say they feel prepared for extreme weather. 

• Vietnam (70%) had the highest share of people who feel prepared, while Azerbaijan (17%) had the lowest. 

• Qatar ranked highest in national readiness, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo ranked lowest. 

There was almost no connection between how prepared governments are and how prepared people feel.  

Countries fall into four groups: 

• Low government readiness & low personal preparedness (e.g., Yemen) 

• High government readiness & low personal preparedness (e.g., Armenia) 

• Low government readiness & high personal preparedness (e.g., Philippines) 

• High government readiness & high personal preparedness (e.g., Vietnam) 

What is the Polar Warming connection? 

Climate change is making extreme weather more intense and unpredictable, and rapid Arctic warming is part of the reason. The Arctic is warming much faster (at an average rate of 4 times) than the rest of the world, which can disrupt the jet stream and contribute to longer heatwaves, heavier rainfall, and more persistent storms. According to the IPCC (2022), these growing climate extremes disproportionately impact low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where limited infrastructure and adaptation capacity increase vulnerability to escalating risks. 

Implications for LMICs 

• Policy and risk communication gaps can leave individuals feeling unprepared even when systems exist. 

• Community resilience and grassroots initiatives can compensate for weak institutional support. 

• Countries with both low readiness and low public preparedness may face compounded vulnerability. 

• External financing and technical aid remain critical, where local capacity is low. 

Urgent Response Needed 

• Strengthen early warning systems and climate risk communication. 

• Scale up institutional capacity-building and governance frameworks. 

• Support community-led adaptation strategies tailored to local risks. 

• Sustain and expand international adaptation funding, in vulnerable regions. 

Read more: Extreme weather events | Health risks | Climate Risks Daily