U. N. warns of weather disasters’ toll
GENEVA — In the wake of heat waves, global warming, forest fires, storms, droughts and a rising number of hurricanes, the U. N. weather agency warned Tuesday that the number of people who need international humanitarian help could rise 50% by 2030 compared with the 108 million who needed it worldwide in 2018.
In a new report released with partners, the World Meteorological Agency says more disasters attributed to weather are taking place each year. It said over 11,000 disasters have been attributed to weather, climate and phenomena like tsunamis that are related to water over the past 50 years — causing 2 million deaths and racking up $ 3.6 trillion worth of economic costs.
In one hopeful development over that period, the average number of deaths from each separate weather disaster per year has dropped by onethird, even as the number of such events and the economic costs from them have both surged.
The 2020 State of Climate
Services report, compiled by 16 international agencies and financing institutions, calls on governments to put more money into earlywarning systems that can improve countries’ ability to prepare for, respond to and mitigate the impact of such natural disasters.
“While COVID19 generated a large international health and economic crisis from which it will take years to recover, it is crucial to remember that climate change will continue to pose an ongoing and increasing threat to human lives, ecosystems, economies and societies for centuries to come,” said WMO SecretaryGeneral Petteri Taalas.
“Recovery from the COVID19 pandemic is an opportunity to move forward along a more sustainable path towards resilience and adaptation in the light of anthropogenic climate change,” he said.
While praising the U. S. private sector for its efforts to fight climate change, Taalas also expressed hope the U. S. government — which under the Trump administration has rejected the 2015 Paris climate accord — would come on board. He noted the “common vision” between China and many European Union countries on the issue.