Disaster victims to double

NEW YORK: Punishing droughts and more severe storms, floods and wildfires driven by climate change could contribute to twice as many people requiring international humanitarian assistance by midcentury, an aid group warned yesterday.

As world leaders arrived in New York for a United Nations climate change summit, the dire consequences of failing to address the threat were underscored in a report by the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

In the charity’s most pessimistic scenario — where little or no action is taken — damages caused by climate change will cost the world an added $US6 billion a year from 2030.

‘‘If the numbers continue to grow it will be something really overwhelming,’’ IFRC president Francesco Rocca said.

‘‘It is [already] really difficult for us to reach all the people in need,’’ he said.

In a scenario where greenhouse gas emissions continue largely unabated, about 200 million people could require international aid by 2050 to survive disasters, some of which would be driven by climate change, the Genevabased group said.

The estimate only accounted for people living on an income of $10 or less a day, unable to recover from losses such as destroyed homes, the IFRC said.

Currently about 108 million require humanitarian assistance in the wake of disasters like hurricanes.

Global temperatures are likely to rise by 1.5degC between 2030 and 2052 if global warming continues at its current pace, the UN said last year, a lower limit nearly 200 nations agreed to strive toward under the Paris Agreement.

The UN Climate Action Summit is due to start on Monday. — Thomson Reuters Foundation