The number of deaths due to extreme weather has decreased in recent years compared to previous decades due to the increase in early warning systems. But the losses keep growing. The latest data from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) say so.
Extreme meteorological, climatic and hydrological phenomena caused 11,778 disasters, claimed the lives of 2 million people and entailed losses worth 4.3 trillion (Spanish trillion) US dollars (about 3.97 trillion euros) between 1970 and 2021, according to those data. And of those two million people who have lost their lives to this cause in the last 50 years, 90% lived in developing countries.
A report by this organization points out that while economic losses from these events have skyrocketed, improved early warnings and coordinated disaster management have reduced the number of fatalities in the last half century.
Losses amounting to $1.7 trillion were recorded in the United States alone, representing 39% of global economic losses in the 51 years covered by the study.
However, in the least developed countries and small island developing States the losses were disproportionately high in relation to the size of their economies.
In small island developing States, 20% of disasters had an impact equivalent to more than 5% of the GDP of the affected countries and some disasters caused economic losses of more than 100% of the respective GDP.
The number of deaths registered in 2020 and 2021 (22,608 in total) shows a new decrease in mortality in relation to the annual average of the previous decade. However, economic losses increased (mostly from storms).
WMO released the new data on the occasion of the World Meteorological Congress, which is held every four years and opened Monday in Geneva with a high-level dialogue on how to accelerate and scale up efforts to bring early warning services to all the inhabitants of the planet by the end of 2027.
"Unfortunately, the most vulnerable communities bear the brunt of weather, climate and hydrological hazards," said WMO Secretary-General Professor Petteri Taalas.
"The extremely strong cyclonic storm Mocha is one such example. It caused widespread devastation in Myanmar and Bangladesh, affecting the poorest groups of the population. Previously, both countries had tens and even hundreds of thousands of fatalities. Fortunately "Thanks to early warnings and disaster management, these catastrophic death rates are history. Early warnings save lives."
The report indicates that more than 60% of the economic losses due to disasters of a meteorological, climatic and hydrological nature were registered in developed economies. However, economic losses represented less than 0.1% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the respective economies in more than four-fifths of these disasters. There were no disasters with economic losses greater than 3.5% of the respective GDP.
In contrast, in the least developed countries, 7% of disasters that caused economic losses had an impact equivalent to more than 5% of the GDP of the affected countries and several disasters caused economic losses of up to almost 30% of the respective GDPs. .
WMO presents these data in an update to its Atlas of Mortality and Economic Loss from Extreme Weather, Climate and Hydrological Events which initially covered the 50-year period between 1970 and 2019.
Between 1970 and 2021, 1,839 disasters related to extreme weather, climate, and hydrological events were recorded, causing 733,585 deaths and $43 billion in economic losses. Droughts were the cause of 95% of the recorded deaths.
Tropical Cyclone Idai, in March 2019, was the meteorological event that caused the most economic losses in Africa (2.1 billion dollars).
There were 3,612 disasters related to extreme weather, climate, and hydrological events that caused 984,263 deaths and $1.4 trillion in economic losses.
Between 1970 and 2021, Asia accounted for 47% of all recorded deaths in the world, of which tropical cyclones are the leading cause.
In 2008, Tropical Cyclone Nargis caused 138,366 deaths. Bangladesh has the highest number of fatalities in Asia: 520,758 deaths from 281 episodes.
943 disasters were registered, of which floods represent 61%. These disasters caused 58,484 deaths and $115.2 billion in economic losses.
There were 2,107 meteorological and other events, with 77,454 deaths and economic losses of 2 trillion dollars.
46% of the economic losses recorded worldwide between 1970 and 2021 occurred in this region.
Losses of $1.7 trillion were recorded in the United States of America alone, representing 39% of global economic losses in the 51 years covered by the Atlas.
Most of the recorded economic losses were attributed to storm-related disasters, and more specifically tropical cyclones.
There are 1,493 extreme events that caused 66,951 deaths and 185.8 billion dollars in economic losses. Tropical cyclones were the leading cause of death.
The balance is 1,784 disasters that caused 166,492 deaths and 562,000 million dollars in economic losses.
This region accounted for 8% of globally recorded deaths between 1970 and 2021. Extreme temperatures were the leading cause of recorded deaths and floods the leading cause of economic losses.
The objective of the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, has been considered as a great challenge to ensure that all the inhabitants of the Earth are protected by early warning systems by the end of 2027.
"Early warning systems are a proven and effective climate adaptation measure that save lives and whose return is almost ten times the investment made," says the WMO. However, only half of the countries have these systems, and in small island developing States, least developed countries and Africa, coverage is particularly low.
