Extreme weather events and natural disasters have increased sharply over the past twenty years. And the trend continues, fully confirming the forecasts of scientists. For years, in fact, they have explained that among the consequences of global warming is precisely the increase in the frequency and intensity of droughts, hurricanes and floods.

UNDRR @UNDRR

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Disaster risk governance done well can be the difference between: life and death; being injured or being fit; having a roof over your head or being homeless.

13 October is #DRRday and #ItsAllAboutGovernance bit.ly/3k22hIA

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Natural disasters have claimed 1.23 million lives

The global data were set out in a report published on 12 October by the United Nations, on the eve of the International Day for Disaster Risk Reduction. According to the report, the majority of the most dramatic events between 2000 and 2019 were concentrated in China and the United States, with 577 and 467 cases respectively. They are followed by India (321), the Philippines (304) and Indonesia (278).

In total, 7,348 large-scale disasters were recorded, claiming 1.23 million lives. But the number of people affected in various ways was infinitely greater: as many as 4.2 billion worldwide. And the damage caused by extreme events is enormous: as much as 2,970 billion dollars in economic losses. This confirms the need to work hard not only on climate change mitigation but also on adaptation, especially in the most exposed nations.

CNN ✓ @CNN

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The number of natural disasters has almost doubled over the past 20 years and the climate crisis is to blame, the UN said.

Researchers said the failure to take meaningful action could turn the world into "an uninhabitable hell for millions of people." cnn.it/37ddkvp

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"Heatwaves will be the main problem"

The United Nations specified that disasters definitively linked to climate rose from 3,656 in the period 1980–1999 to 6,681 over the past two decades. In particular, the number of large-scale floods more than doubled, reaching 3,254 events. "Humanity is demonstrating that it is deliberately destroying. It is the only conclusion one can reach by analysing the last twenty years," commented the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori.

"An ever-growing number of people," she added, "are suffering the effects of the climate crisis." Hence the appeal launched to governments to invest in building early-warning systems. The official also specified that "extreme heatwaves will represent the main problem over the next ten years, particularly in poor countries."