"Asia remained the world's most disaster-hit region from weather, climate, and water-related hazards in 2023,” according to a United Nations recent report.
Asia remained the world’s most disaster-hit region from weather, climate and water-related hazards in 2023. Floods and storms caused the highest number of reported casualties and economic losses, whilst the impact of heatwaves became more severe, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The report World Meteorological Organization (WMO) highlighted Key messages:
- Long-term warming trend accelerates
- Asia is the world’s most disaster-prone region
- Water-related hazards are the top threat, but extreme heat is becoming more sever
- Melting glaciers threaten future water security
- Sea surface temperatures and ocean heat hit record highs
Since the 1961-1990 period, the warming trend has almost doubled, with Asia warming at a rate exceeding the global average.
Heat, melting and floods
The WMO reported that several extreme precipitation event occurred in 2023, causing multiple floods and storm events in June, July, and August. These events resulted in over 600 reported deaths across India, Pakistan, and Nepal.
The annual mean near-surface temperature over Asia in 2023 was the second highest on record, 0.91 °C [0.84 °C–0.96 °C] above the 1991–2020 average and 1.87 °C [1.81 °C–1.92 °C] above the 1961–1990 average. Particularly high average temperatures were recorded from western Siberia to central Asia and from eastern China to Japan. Japan and Kazakhstan each had record warm years.
In 2023, a total of 79 disasters associated with hydro-meteorological hazard events were reported in Asia according to the Emergency Events Database. Of these, over 80% were related to flood and storm events, with more than 2,000 fatalities and nine million people directly affected.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to advance these efforts and provide more tailored support and services to address strategies and interventions to effectively mitigate rising disaster risks, said WMO.
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