The world’s costliest climate change disaster

Subject: Geography

Context:

Pakistan floods: The worst in the country’s recent history

Pakistan recorded 62 per cent less than normal rainfall in the month of March, and the warmest April preceding the monsoon season.
Glaciers melted as a result of these heat waves, which led rivers to swell.
Extreme rainfall exacerbated the situation.
Over 1,500 people were killed, with millions being displaced and developing serious health issues such as skin infections, malaria and diarrhoea.
The overall damages in the nation were estimated at about $30 billion.
At COP27, Pakistan sought debt relief and compensation as a part of “loss and damage” funds for disaster-hit nations.

Hurricane Ian in the US: Costliest climate-induced disaster of the year

The warm ocean waters in the Gulf of Mexico powered Hurricane Ian in the US towards the end of September, making it one of the strongest hurricanes to hit the country.
About 101 lives were lost, and monetary losses were worth more than $100 billion.
The escalation brought severe floods, relentless rains and strong winds to southwestern Florida.
“La Niña” fueled favourable conditions for hurricanes in the North Atlantic over the past three years.

European droughts: Likely to have been the ‘worst in 500 years’

Europe was struck by two extreme heat waves in June and July.
Heat waves claimed approximately 16,000 lives.
Following the deadly summer heat, many regions of Europe witnessed severe droughts.
Water levels in Europe’s biggest rivers – Rhine, Po, Loire, and Danube – shrunk, and dry conditions continue to prevail in different parts of the continent.
The Global Drought Observatory (GDO) report by the European Commission’s research wing, declared 47% of the continent in “warning” conditions, while another 17% remained on alert.
Human-induced climate change – especially high temperatures – increased the likelihood of observed soil moisture drought events.
North America, mainland China and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere also saw extreme heat conditions during the summer of 2022.

Spain and Portugal: Driest climate in 1200 years

An atmospheric high-pressure system, which causes dry air to descend over subtropical regions in the Northern Hemisphere during winter and spring seasons, called Azores high, has the ability to block wet weather outlets.
This caused dry conditions in the Iberian peninsula in southwestern Europe and the Mediterranean region.
Spain and Portugal hence faced the driest weather in 1,200 years, along with wildfires.
The most frequent Azores highs could only have been caused by the climate crisis, caused by humanity’s carbon emissions.
Rainfall in the region is likely to drop by 10-20% by 2100, severely impacting food production.

India recorded natural disasters almost every day in 2022

According to a report by the Centre for Science and Environment India recorded “extreme weather events on 241 of 273 days” in the first nine months of the year.
Thunderstorms, persistent rains, cyclones, droughts, heat waves, lightning, floods and landslides occurred all throughout these months.
Himachal Pradesh recorded the highest number of deaths (359), followed by Assam and Madhya Pradesh.
Overall, these disasters claimed about 2,755 lives, affected 1.8 million hectares (ha) of crop area, destroyed over 416,667 houses and killed close to 70,000 livestock.

Australian bushfires 2019-20

Nearly 11 months of fires affected 80% of Australians and killed or displaced at least 3 billion animals.
Total Loss: $110 Billion
Deaths:34