Take a minute to look out the window - what’s the weather like? You may have noticed that the weather’s been different lately. Perhaps it’s something subtle, maybe just hotter than normal. Or is the rainy season starting earlier or later than usual? For others, the difference might be very noticeable. Have there been more frequent heat waves, droughts, storms or floods? While these are all indeed natural occurrences, there is now increasing evidence to prove that climate change also influences the frequency and severity of these “natural” disasters.
In 2019, Cyclone Idai hit Zimbabwe, Malawi and Mozambique, triggering landslides that claimed over 1000 lives and destroyed farmland and infrastructure, leaving millions without food and basic amenities. In 2020, Australia experienced its worst-ever bushfire season, which destroyed over 10 million hectares of land and threatened the safety of humans and local animals alike. Throughout the past decade, the Horn of Africa (Eastern Africa) has been suffering from severe droughts, while Asia has been ravaged by floods. During this same period, climate-related disasters affected over 1.7 billion people across the globe. Over the past 50 years, the occurrence of extreme weather events, fueled by rising temperatures, has increased by five-fold. Just last year, climate disasters caused at least 12,000 casualties worldwide. And things are only going to get worse from here.
Our global climate is like one great big web - everything is connected, and changing one part of it can affect the entire system. Think of it as a chain reaction: greenhouse gases cause global warming, and the rising temperatures set off a series of changes that - for lack of a better phrase - messes up the entire climate system, hence the term “climate change”.
The increase in temperature causes an increase in the amount of evaporation of water, affecting the global hydrological (water) cycle. In fact, over 90% of all natural disasters are related to water, specifically, how the water affects the weather. The increased evaporation leads to prolonged periods of dryness, known as droughts. And when it does rain, the result tends to be heavier storms, which can cause flooding. The risk of wildfires has also increased greatly; heavy rain causes a rapid growth of vegetation, while heatwaves and droughts dry them out - perfect fuel. All that’s needed is a little spark, such as a lightning strike, and climate change has made sure that the frequency of those have increased, too. One country that is affected by wildfires is the US, in which the number of large fires the country has experienced has doubled between 1984 and 2015, and with all trends undeniably showing an increase in size, frequency and severity of wildfires in the coming years. On top of this, thanks to climate change, we’re also seeing an increase in the frequency and strength of tropical storms (also known as hurricanes, cyclones or typhoons, depending on where in the world you live). Rising temperatures are creating more destructive storms with heavier rainfall and higher wind speeds, also increasing the likelihood of triggering other hazards such as flooding, landslides and tornados.
Not every part of the world will be equally affected by changing weather patterns and natural disasters, and unfortunately, the countries that contribute the least to global warming tend to suffer the worst of its consequences. In fact, over 90% of all climate change-related deaths occur in developing countries. The most vulnerable continent as a whole is Africa, with countries such as Somalia, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan and Nigeria being among the most affected. Around 70% of all Africans are dependent on the agricultural sector to support their livelihoods; as climate change causes rising temperatures and longer and more severe droughts in some places and more frequent floods in others, crop failure is becoming an increasingly urgent problem. And it has already proven to be deadly. It is estimated that climate change claims up to 400,000 lives every year from hunger and diseases alone. That number is projected to nearly double in just 6 years from now, taking 700,000 lives each year by 2030.
All of these disasters are warning signs that we cannot carry on this way. And this is just a fraction of what is in store for us if we reach a climate meltdown. As our planet’s delicate balance draws ever nearer to the tipping point of disaster, it is more crucial than ever to slow the advance of global warming and climate change. The climate crisis has now become a matter of life and death. It’s time to heed our planet’s warnings and put an end to climate change.
Credits:
Image - CGTN
Information - USGS, WWF, Oxfam International, UNEP, NOAA, UNWFP, UNWFP, International Rescue Committee, Iberdrola, the Rockefeller Foundation, ASP, ReliefWeb
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