The unpredictability of extreme weather events calls for a mechanism for mobilizing research funds at short notice, so that an event can be investigated while it is still going on.

At the local and national levels, authorities could create a consortium of respected scientists as standby funding recipients. International contributions might be coordinated by a body such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which could set up a worldwide agreement on data and information sharing.

Besides investigations such as model validation, funding bids would need to cover basic research into these extreme weather events. Allocation would have to be decided within days, and research results fed promptly to a United Nations panel.

Such measures could minimize the cost of disastrous weather events over the medium to long term and help to lessen their socioeconomic, cultural and environmental effects.