According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), weather-related disasters such as hurricanes, droughts or floods have increased rapidly by up to 5 times in the last 50 years. However, the good news is that the number of deaths has decreased.
The reason for the increase is especially if it is not climate change and on the other hand, the disaster reporting system is also getting better. Meanwhile, the death rate has decreased due to a better early warning system.
In the 50-year period between 1970 and 2019, there were about 11,000 disasters related to weather phenomena. The number of victims who died reached 2 million people with an estimated total economic loss of USD 3.64 trillion.
"Heatwaves, droughts and wildfires like what we're seeing today in Europe and North America will be higher. Water vapor in the atmosphere is now higher leading to extreme rains and deadly flooding. Warming oceans are impacting the frequency and area of intense tropical storms." WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas said.
More than 90% of deaths from weather disasters occur in developing countries. The biggest death of 650,000 people was caused by drought. Meanwhile, extreme temperatures caused the death toll of 56,000 people.
But there is a decrease in deaths than before. "Behind these statistics there is hope. Improved early warning systems have resulted in a significant reduction in deaths. Simply put, we are much better at saving lives," said Petteri.
However, there are gaps in the early warning system or weather monitoring. For example, in Africa, parts of Latin America and the Pacific and Caribbean islands, improvements still need to be made as climate change is increasingly threatening.
