Standard Operating Procedures: Early Action to El Niño/La Niña Episodes
These inter-agency Standard Operating Procedures set out how humanitarian and development actors should act ahead of El Niño and La Niña episodes rather than waiting for impacts to materialize. Endorsed by IASC Principals, they establish a common, phased framework for translating ENSO forecasts into concrete early action at global, regional, and country level.
The SOPs define triggers for early action tied to forecast confidence and expected severity, and assign roles and responsibilities across the three tiers: global-level monitoring and advisory functions, regional coordination through mechanisms such as Regional Climate Outlook Forums, and country-level activation involving Humanitarian and Resident Coordinators, UN Country Teams, national meteorological services, and national disaster management authorities. Background sections explain ENSO dynamics and historical impact trends, and provide guidance on how to use the procedures within existing preparedness and contingency planning systems.
Four annexes provide practical planning material: sample early action programmes across food security and agriculture, health, nutrition, WASH, education, shelter, protection, and livelihoods; a comparative table of financing mechanisms available to support early action (including CERF, country-based pooled funds, and IFI instruments); maps of average ENSO impacts on rainfall; and worked examples of country-level triggers for drought and flood, with indicators such as SPI, SPEI, NDVI, Vegetation Condition Index, Water Requirement Satisfaction Index, water gauge levels, and snow water equivalent, together with illustrative threshold values.