India, China 'most affected by weather-related disasters': United Nations

United Nations India and China are among the countries most affected by weatherrelated disasters with the two nations accounting for more than three billion disasteraffected people between 1995 and 2015 a new UN report has said ahead of the crucial Paris climate conferenceThe report titled The Human Cost of Weather Related Disasters by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction said the five countries hit by the highest number of disasters are the US China India the Philippines and IndonesiaAsian population giants China and India dominate the league table of countries most affected by weatherrelated disasters Together these two nations account for more than 3 billion disasteraffected people between 1995 and 2015That is 75 per cent of the global total of 41 billion people the report said In India 805 million people were affected by weatherrelated disasters during the 19952015 period second only after China where 2274 million were people affected India was hit by 288 disasters over the last 20 years third only after the US 472 and China 441The Philippines 274 and Indonesia 163 round of the five nations hit by the highest number of disasters The report however said in recent years national preparedness and more efficient responses to disasters have significantly reduced the numbers of people dying from weatherrelated hazards in some countriesIndia China Indonesia Bangladesh Thailand and Myanmar have each made major commitments to reduce disaster losses by acting on the priorities of the Hyogo Framework for Action HFA For India a key trigger was the 1999 cyclone which claimed around 10000 lives in Odisha as casualties in two recent major cyclones were minimal the report saidThe report which comes ahead of the Paris climate conference starting November 30 further shows that over the last 20 years 90 per cent of major disasters have been caused by 6457 recorded floods storms heatwaves droughts and other weatherrelated eventsWeather and climate are major drivers of disaster risk and this report demonstrates that the world is paying a high price in lives lost UNISDR head Margareta Wahlstrom said Economic losses are a major development challenge for many least developed countries battling climate change and poverty she saidThe report highlights data gaps noting that economic losses from weatherrelated disasters are much higher than the recorded figure of 189 trillion dollars which accounts for 71 per cent of all losses attributed to natural hazards over the twentyyear periodIn the long term an agreement in Paris at COP21 on reducing greenhouse gas emissions will be a significant contribution to reducing damage and loss from disasters which are partly driven by a warming globe and rising sea levels Wahlstrom saidAccording to the report Asia accounts for the lions share of disaster impacts including 332000 deaths and 37 billion people affected The death toll in Asia included 138000 deaths caused by Cyclone Nargis which struck Myanmar in 2008Storms were the deadliest type of weatherrelated disaster accounting for 242000 deaths or 40 per cent of the global weatherrelated deaths with 89 per cent of these deaths occurring in lowerincome countries Overall heatwaves accounted for 148000 of the 164000 lives lost due to extreme temperatures with 92 per cent of deaths occurring in highincome countries Drought affects Africa more than any other continent including 77 droughts in East Africa aloneThe report said death tolls from flooding have also risen in many parts of the world In 2007 floods killed 3300 people in India and Bangladesh alone In 2010 flooding killed 2100 people in Pakistan and another 1900 in China while in 2013 some 6500 people died due to floods in IndiaBetween 1995 and 2015 extreme temperatures caused 27 per cent of all deaths attributed to weatherrelated disasters with the overwhelming majority 148000 out of 164000 lives lost being the result of heatwaves India recorded 2500 lives lost in just one month between May and June this year and Pakistan recorded 1230 deaths from the same heatwaveThe report and analysis compiled by UNISDR and the Belgianbased Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters CRED showed that since the first UN climate change conference COP1 in 1995 606000 lives have been lost and 41 billion people have been injured left homeless or in need of emergency assistance as a result of weatherrelated disastersCRED head Debarati GuhaSapir said climate change climate variability and weather events are a threat to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals overall target of eliminating poverty We need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle other risk drivers such as unplanned urban development environmental degradation and gaps in early warnings she said This all requires ensuring people are risk informed and strengthening institutions which manage disaster risk she added