The project will support Government of Malawi (GoM) to take steps to save lives and enhance livelihoods at risk from climate-related disasters. Malawi is chronically vulnerable to climate-related hazards, including flooding, drought and extreme weather events, and is already experiencing the impacts of a changing climate. As a result, the country urgently needs to strengthen its national architecture for generating science-based climate information to improve its early warning system (EWS). The project will address technical, financial, capacity, and access barriers related to weather and climate information (CI) by enhancing national and sub-national hydro-meteorological capacities for early warning and forecasting, by developing and disseminating tailored climate information products targeting smallholder farmers (women and men) as well as fisher folk, and by strengthening the capacity of communities to respond to climate-related disasters. The objective of the project is to reduce vulnerability to climate change impacts on the lives and livelihoods of women and men, boys and girls, from extreme weather events and climate change. The initiative is aimed at achieving the following outputs:a) Intensifying coverage of the hydrological and meteorological (hydromet) observational systems and capacities to generate timely, reliable, and geographically relevant early warning and weather forecasting information to inform responses and manage climate impacts. This enhanced data coverage will assist in the production of climate vulnerability and risk assessment information that will inform the formulation and implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).b) Enhancing capacities to package, diffuse, and apply climate and weather information to improve disaster response and adaptive planning and to implement risk transfer mechanisms among public and private sector actors as well as communities.c) Mainstreaming and implementing climate risk management across national, sub-national, and local levels to ensure preparedness and urgent response to climate-related disasters.The primary measurable benefits include approximately 1.4M direct and 0.7M indirect beneficiaries (12% of the total population) who will gain access to critical weather and early warning information.The project is aligned with the development priorities of the Government of Malawi (GoM) as outlined in the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy II (MGDSII) and the National Resilience Plan, and was designed following extensive stakeholder consultations. It advances a paradigm shift for Malawi in the use of early warning and climate information to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable communities. By facilitating a demand-based model for climate information and use of mobile platforms, the project will promote private sector participation and market development through targeted monetization of climate data. It will yield sustainable development benefits by saving lives (18 lives per year) and assets (average USD 5M/year) and enhancing agricultural productivity (annual benefit USD 3.8M), safety and well-being, soil and water quality, and livelihoods of women (about 160,000).