Asia world’s most disaster-prone region

Asia continued to bear the brunt of weather, climate and water-related hazards in 2023, making it the world’s most disaster-hit region, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organisation.

Floods and storms led to the highest number of reported casualties and economic losses, and the impact of heatwaves intensified, said the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) State of the Climate in Asia – 2023 report.

According to the report, sea-surface temperatures in the northwest Pacific Ocean hit record highs, and even the Arctic Ocean experienced a marine heatwave.

“Many countries in the region experienced their hottest year on record in 2023, along with a barrage of extreme conditions, from droughts and heatwaves to floods and storms. Climate change exacerbated the frequency and severity of such events, profoundly impacting societies, economies, and, most importantly, human lives and the environment that we live in,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

Citing the Emergency Events Database, the report said 79 disasters linked with hydro-meteorological hazards struck Asia in 2023, with floods and storms accounting for over 80 per cent of incidents, resulting in more than 2,000 fatalities and affecting nine million people.

The annual mean nearsurface temperature over Asia in 2023 was the second highest on record, 0.91 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 average and 1.87 degrees above the 1961-1990 average. Japan and Kazakhstan each had record warm years. In India, severe heatwaves in April and June resulted in about 110 reported fatalities due to heatstroke. A major and prolonged heatwave affected much of southeast Asia in April and May, extending as far west as Bangladesh and eastern India, and north to southern China, with recordbreaking temperatures.

Parts of the Turan Lowland (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan); the Hindu Kush (Afghanistan, Pakistan); the Himalayas; around the Ganges and lower course of the Brahmaputra rivers (India and Bangladesh); the Arakan Mountains (Myanmar); and the lower course of the Mekong river reported belownormal precipitation.

A prolonged heatwave affected much of southeast Asia in April and May