In its latest report, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said extreme weather conditions caused 573 disasters in India between 1970 and 2021 that claimed 1,38,377 lives. The report said the USA alone incurred US$1.7 trillion, accounting for 39 per cent of economic losses worldwide in the 51 years.
But Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States suffered a disproportionately high cost in relation to the size of their economies. Globally, 11,778 reported disasters led to more than two million deaths and USD 4.3 trillion in economic losses during this period.
According to WMO, economic losses have soared but improved early warnings and coordinated Disaster Management has slashed the human casualty toll over the past half a century. Over 90 percent of reported deaths worldwide occurred in developing countries.
Asia reported 3,612 disasters attributable to weather, Climate and water extremes, with 9,84,263 deaths and USD 1.4 trillion in economic losses. Between 1970 and 2021, Asia accounted for 47 per cent of all reported deaths worldwide, with tropical being the leading cause of reported deaths. Tropical Cyclone Nargis in 2008 led to 1,38,366 deaths, the WMO said.
Bangladesh reported the highest number of human deaths (5,20,758) in Asia due to 281 events, the data showed.
In India, 573
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disasters reportedly killed 1,38,377 people between 1970 and 2021. India recorded 2,227 human casualties due to extreme weather events in 2022, according to the Annual Statement on
Climate of India, issued by the India Meteorological Department.
In Africa, 1,839 disasters caused 7,33,585 deaths and USD 43 billion in economic losses. Droughts caused 95 per cent of the reported deaths. Tropical cyclone Idai in March 2019 was the costliest event that occurred in Africa (USD 2.1 billion).
The WMO issued the new findings for the quadrennial World Meteorological Congress which opened in Geneva in Switzerland on Monday with a high-level dialogue on accelerating and scaling up action to ensure that early warning Services reach everyone on earth by the end of 2027.
The United Nations Early Warnings for All initiative is one of the top strategic priorities due to be endorsed by the World Meteorological Congress, WMOs top decision-making body.
The frequency of extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves is projected to rise manifold in India in the future due to Climate Change, according to a report released by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, last year.
The study said the risk will increase significantly under the warming climate and variability in the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) — a recurring climate pattern involving changes in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
Climate change has increased the instability in the Atmosphere, leading to an increase in convective activity — thunderstorms, lightning and heavy rain events. Cyclonic storms in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea are also intensifying rapidly and retaining their intensity for a longer duration due to Global Warming, according to meteorologists.