Climate change is not some distant event in the future it is affecting us today. This is the finding in a new report from the World Meteorological Organisation, titled Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970 – 2012). Because of the increasing risks climate change, the world is currently five times as prone to flooding and extreme weather events as it was in the 1970s.
Increasing Frequency
The first decade of the 21st century saw 3,496 natural disasters from floods, storms, droughts and heat waves. That was nearly five times as many disasters as the 743 catastrophes reported during the 1970s – and all of those weather events are influenced by climate change.
Rising Costs
Extreme weather is already costing us vast sums of costs money. The cost of disasters rose to $864bn (£505bn) in the last decade. Disasters were about 5.5 times more expensive by 2010 than they were in the 1970s, and most of that was because of the rising losses due to floods. About half of the $2390.7bn cost of disasters over the last 40 years was due to storms. In the US costs were led hurricane Katrina and super storm Sandy, each accounting for $196.9bn. The five costliest global disasters were US storms.
Growing Death Toll
The biggest death toll comes from storms which accounted for 1.45m of
the 1.94m global disaster deaths. Drought is the next big killer. Heat waves are also a growing threat. In the 1970s heat waves didn’t even register but by 2010, they were one of the leading causes of deaths from natural disasters. In Russia alone, more than 55,000 people died as a result of heat wave in 2010.
Related Articles
Action on Climate Change a Cost Benefit Analysis
The Cost of Delaying Action to Stem Climate Change
Graphics – Cost of Delaying Action to Stem Climate Change
Businesses Feel the Heat from Declining Labor Productivity
Economic Benefits of Combating Climate Change (IIED)
Economic Costs of Combating Climate Change (IPCC)
Reducing Fossil Fuel Use: The Longer We Wait the More it will Cost
Infographic – How Much Would it Cost to Go Green Globally?
Graphic – The Cost of Mitigating Climate Change
The Financial Costs of Biodiversity Loss
Extreme Weather and the Costs of Climate Change
Extreme Weather
The Costs of Global Warming
The Costs of Climate Change Related Flooding
Graphs – Global Cost of Flooding
The Costs of Flood Damage will Rise Along with Sea Levels
Balken Flooding and the Costs of Climate Change
Tornadoes and Floods Underscore the Costs of Global Warming
Floods in the Philippines Underscore the Deadly Toll from Climate Change
Hurricane Irene and the Staggering Costs of Climate Change
Extreme Weather Makes a Convincing Case for Climate Change
