A report on 2020 weather disasters promoted by climate change

 

The same disasters killed at least 3,500 people and displaced more than 13.5 million people.

weather disasters boosted by climate change

Paris France:

The ten most expensive climate disasters around the world this year have seen insured damage of $ 150 billion, surpassing the figure for 2019 and reflecting the long-term impact of global warming, according to a report Monday.

The same disasters claimed at least 3,500 lives and displaced more than 13.5 million people.

From wildfires that spiraled out of control in Australia in January to a record number of hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean until November, the true cost of a year-to-year climate-induced disaster was actually much higher because most of the losses were insecure. .

Not surprisingly, the burden falls disproportionately on the shoulders of poor countries, according to the annual tally of the global NGO Christian Aid entitled "Calculating the Cost of 2020: A Year of Climate Breakdown."

Citing a study published last month in The Lancet, the report said that only four percent of economic losses from extreme weather-affected events were insured in low-income countries, compared to 60 percent in high-income economies.

"Whether it's floods in Asia, locusts in Africa, or storms in Europe and the Americas, climate change continues to rage in 2020," said Kat Kramer, climate policy lead at Christian Aid.

Of course, humankind was ravaged by severe weather disasters before man-made global warming began to tamper with the planet's climate system.

But more than a century of temperature and precipitation data, along with decades of satellite data on hurricanes and sea level rise, leave no doubt that rising global surface temperature is adding to its impact.

Massive tropical storms - known as hurricanes and cyclones - are now more likely to be stronger, last longer, carry more water and roam outside their historic range.

The 30 record-breaking Atlantic hurricanes in 2020 - with at least 400 deaths and $ 41 billion in damage - indicate that the world may see more of these storms as well.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) had to use Greek symbols after letters in the Latin alphabet ran out.

The endings, not the averages

The severe summer floods in China and India, where the monsoon season brought abnormal amounts of rain for the second year in a row, also agree with expectations about how the climate will affect rainfall.