UNDP and Uzbekistan Launch Early Warning System in Mosques

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) — The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Emergency Situations (MCHS), has implemented an innovative technical solution to expand public coverage of the country’s early warning system for emergencies.

As part of a pilot initiative, special devices are being installed in mosques located near population centers, allowing MCHS to broadcast emergency messages via external loudspeakers and promptly inform large audiences.

To date, equipment has been installed in 272 mosques across seven regions: Jizzakh, Kashkadarya, Namangan, Samarkand, Syrdarya, Tashkent, and Ferghana.

Mosques were selected due to their status as respected social institutions with influence over local communities. Additionally, mosques are present in nearly every settlement and are equipped with high-powered loudspeakers, providing an audible radius of 500 to 2,000 meters. According to project estimates, this channel will reach approximately 6.5 million people, including vulnerable groups.

A key advantage of using mosques is the ability to broadcast messages even during mobile network or power outages.

Beyond mosque installations, the project, supported by UNDP and funded by the Green Climate Fund, has deployed 28 large-format outdoor screens along main roads in areas of high population density.

The initiative, titled “Enhancing the Integrated Early Warning System to Strengthen Community Resilience in Uzbekistan to Climate-Related Hazards,” is implemented in collaboration with Uzbekhydromet. It focuses on modernizing the alert system to address floods, mudflows, landslides, avalanches, and hydrological droughts in densely populated and economically significant mountainous regions.