The World Meteorological Organization on Friday said it expected a highly active hurricane season and stressed that early warnings were needed to save lives.

"High ocean heat content and the anticipated development of La Nina event are expected to fuel a very, very, very active hurricane season this year," Clare Nullis, WMO spokesperson, told a briefing in Geneva.

"It only takes one landfalling hurricane to set back years and years of socio-economic development."

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) has forecast a range of 17 to 25 named storms. The average is 14.

Of those storms, eight to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes.

The Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts from June to November, has recorded above average activity for eight consecutive years, WMO said.

"Early warnings have helped save lives," Nullis said.

"They've really cut the death toll dramatically, but even so the small island developing states in the Caribbean suffer disproportionately both in terms of economic losses and losses to life."

Between 1970 and 2021, tropical cyclones -- which include hurricanes -- were the leading cause of reported human and economic losses worldwide, according to WMO.

(Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)