Following the observance of International Lightning Safety Day on 28 June, the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO) is pleased to announce that the 2025 Caribbean Lightning Safety Awareness Contest and its winning schools have received international recognition through their inclusion in the newly released children’s disaster preparedness book, Lightning, published by COPE Disaster Champions.

Developed in collaboration with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the Caribbean Meteorological Organization (CMO), and several international partners, the book is freely available online and is designed to help children and families understand lightning hazards, recognize warning signs, and take life-saving actions before, during, and after thunderstorms.

The publication opens in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, where the COPE Squad arrives to judge a regional lightning awareness competition inspired by the CMO’s Caribbean Lightning Safety Awareness Contest. Readers are then taken on a global journey exploring the science of lightning, disaster preparedness, early warning systems, and inclusive disaster risk reduction.