The United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released the 2020 State of Climate Services report on how anthropogenic activity affects global warming, the weather, and how it is a driver for natural disasters. The agency warned that more people would need international humanitarian help as communities are affected by climate change events.
According to the WMO, nearly 11,000 disasters since 1970 have been associated with the weather, global warming, and water-related hazards such as tropical storms, rising sea levels, and flooding. Nearly two million deaths have been recorded from these events, and recorded natural disasters have increased five times.
In 2018, 108 million people worldwide needed international humanitarian help from wildfires, storms, floods, and droughts. WMO predicted that 10 years from now, the number of people needing help would increase by 50%.
Extreme Weather and Climate Events
Between September last year and January this year, bushfires in Australia were at "apocalyptic" levels. Aside from destroyed natural habitats, nearly one billion animals have died within months. Moreover, the fires have destroyed nearly 2,000 homes and resulted in 25 deaths.
It is no coincidence that Australia recorded its warmest temperature this year as well as its driest spring. Top experts in the nation have pointed to climate change and human activities that influence and make the bushfires worse every year.
In the United States, disastrous wildfires and fire tornadoes swept across the West Coast, burning millions of acres of land. Entire communities perished with the fires as more than 17,000 international firefighters have been fighting 25 major wildfires in California alone.
In the southwest, other states have been surviving disastrous tropical storms during what experts call an abnormally active hurricane season. There had already been 23 storms from the Atlantic, resulting in power outages, loss of homes, people moving into shelters, as well as mosquito infestations after the storms.
Climate change has affected hurricanes by causing heavier rains, slower movement of cyclones, and rapid intensification of storms. Moreover, global warming has caused some storms to abnormally form farther north than usual.
Protecting Global Communities
California Governor Gavin Newsom said that what California went through is the fast-forward scenario of the entire nation. "What we're experiencing right here is coming to communities all across the United States of America unless we get our act together on climate change."
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said, "that climate change will continue to pose an on-going and increasing threat to human lives, ecosystems, economies, and societies for centuries to come." Aside from developing methods to reduce human activities that contribute to global warming, early warning systems are also effective for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaption.
The report is also a foundation for understanding how to protect the most vulnerable communities. For example, California's growing population and urbanization have many residents living and moving into places where wildfires start.
Taalas said that recovering from the coronavirus pandemic "is an opportunity to move forward along a more sustainable path towards resilience and adaptation in the light of anthropogenic climate change."
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