Haiti, Zimbabwe, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. These are, in order, the five countries in the world that suffered most from the consequences of climate change during 2016. The special ranking was drawn up by a non-governmental organisation, Germanwatch, which presented its analysis at the World Climate Conference (COP 23) under way in Bonn.

Haiti and Fiji, island states caught in the vortex of climate change

"Two of the three nations hardest hit by climate disasters," highlighted Vera Kuenzel, co-author of the report, entitled Global Climate Risk Index, "are island states." These are Haiti and Fiji, which have had to contend with hurricanes of extreme force. Fiji was given the presidency of COP 23: a highly symbolic choice, intended to underline how climate change is already a matter of life and death for some countries in the world.

Germanwatch reviewed all extreme weather events recorded across the globe: not only cyclones but also floods, droughts and extreme temperatures. In Haiti, as a result of super-hurricanes Matthew and Nicole, which struck the island in September of last year, 615 people died. Material damage, moreover, amounts to 4.24 billion dollars. The first hurricane in particular (category 4) was considered the most disastrous in Haiti's history: only the 2010 earthquake has caused greater devastation in terms of natural disasters. Because of Matthew and Nicole, nearly one and a half million people were left without sufficient food. At the same time, a cholera epidemic broke out on the island.

In Sri Lanka, damages of 2 billion dollars

In second place is Zimbabwe, on account of the extreme drought that characterised a lengthy period at the start of 2016. The African nation recorded 246 deaths attributable to the exceptional phenomenon, as well as losses of 1.55 billion dollars. In Fiji, the death toll was fortunately more limited (47 in total), but material damage was comparable: 1.38 billion. This was due to category-5 hurricane "Winston", which destroyed the homes of 34,000 people.
In Sri Lanka, fourth in the Germanwatch ranking, losses reached 2 billion dollars, to which 99 deaths must be added. Throughout 2016, droughts, cyclones, torrential rains and exceptional landslides followed one after another. Flooding alone forced half a million people to flee their homes. Finally, in Vietnam, the worst drought in a century was recorded, bringing the Mekong river to historic lows. Subsequently, a series of hurricanes and storms caused severe flooding and destroyed more than 370,000 homes.

520,000 deaths worldwide from extreme weather events since 1997

The United States of climate-sceptic Donald Trump ranked tenth, with 267 deaths and nearly 47.4 million dollars in damages (Italy is 92nd). The NGO concluded by recalling that the increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, driven by climate change, has caused the deaths of more than 520,000 people worldwide since 1997. The events classified as "exceptional" numbered more than 11,000.