Thursday, September 2, 2021

Weather disasters increase five-fold in 50 years: WMO - China.org.cn

The number of weather-related disasters has increased by five times over the past 50 years, the latest report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Wednesday.

However, thanks to improved early warning systems and disaster management, the number of deaths from these hazards has been almost three times less.

According to the WMO Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes (1970 - 2019), there were more than 11,000 reported disasters globally, with over two million deaths and $3.64 trillion in losses.

From 1970 to 2019, weather, climate and water hazards accounted for 50% of all disasters, 74% of all reported economic losses, and 45% of all reported deaths, the report says. More than 91% of these deaths occurred in developing countries.

Among the top 10 hazards that led to the largest loss of human life during this period were droughts, storms, floods and extreme temperatures. However, the death toll fell from over 50 000 in the 1970s to less than 20 000 in the 2010s.

In terms of economic losses, three of the 10 costliest disasters occurred in 2017, including Hurricanes Harvey, Maria and Irma. These three hurricanes alone accounted for 35% of total economic losses from the top 10 disasters globally from 1970 to 2019.

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