‘India lost over 1.3L lives in disasters linked to extreme weather, climate change in 50 years’

New Delhi: Extreme weather, climate and water-related events caused 573 disasters in India between 1970 and 2021 that claimed 1,38,377 lives, according to data from the World Meteorological Department, a specialised agency of the United Nations.

Globally, 11,778 reported disasters led to more than two million deaths and $4.3 trillion in economic losses during this period. Over 90 per cent of the reported deaths worldwide occurred in developing countries.

The WMO issued the new findings for the quadrennial World Meteorological Congress which opened in Geneva in Switzerland on Monday with a high-level dialogue on accelerating and scaling up action to ensure that early warning services reach everyone on earth by the end of 2027.

The “United Nations Early Warnings for All initiative” is one of the top strategic priorities due to be endorsed by the World Meteorological Congress, WMO’s top decision-making body.

Asia reported 3,612 disasters attributable to weather, climate and water extremes, with 9,84,263 deaths and $1.4 trillion in economic losses.

“Between 1970 and 2021, Asia accounted for 47 per cent of all reported deaths worldwide, with tropical cyclones being the leading cause of reported deaths. Tropical cyclone Nargis in 2008 led to 1,38,366 deaths,” the WMO said.

Bangladesh reported the highest number of human deaths (5,20,758) in Asia due to 281 events, the data showed.

In India, 573 disasters reportedly killed 1,38,377 people between 1970 and 2021.

In Africa, 1,839 disasters caused 7,33,585 deaths and $43 billion in economic losses. Droughts caused 95 per cent of the reported deaths. Tropical cyclone Idai in March 2019 was the costliest event that occurred in Africa ($2.1 billion).

“The most vulnerable communities unfortunately bear the brunt of weather, climate and water-related hazards,” WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas said. Extremely severe cyclonic storm ‘Mocha’ exemplifies this. It caused widespread devastation in Myanmar and Bangladesh, impacting the poorest of the poor, he said. The frequency of extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves is projected to rise manifold in India in the future due to climate change, according to a report released by researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, last year. India recorded 2,227 human casualties due to extreme weather events in 2022, according to the Annual Statement on Climate of India, issued by the India Meteorological Department.

Meanwhile, climate change is likely to abruptly push up to 30 per cent species over tipping points as their geographic ranges reach unforeseen temperatures, according to a study.

The researchers found that if the planet warms by 1.5 degrees Celsius, 15 per cent of species they studied will be at risk of experiencing unfamiliarly hot temperatures across at least 30 per cent of their existing geographic range in a single decade. However, this doubles to 30 per cent of species at 2.5 degrees Celsius of warming, they said.

The study, published in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution, analysed data from over 35,000 species of animals — including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds, corals, fish, cephalopods and plankton — and seagrasses from every continent and ocean basin, alongside climate projections running up to 2100.

The researchers investigated when areas within each species’ geographical range will cross a threshold of thermal exposure, defined as the first five consecutive years where temperatures consistently exceed the most extreme monthly temperature experienced by a species across its geographic range over recent history (1850-2014).

Once the thermal exposure threshold is crossed, the animal is not necessarily going to die out, but there is no evidence that it is able to survive the higher temperatures, according to the researchers.

The research projects that for many species there could be an abrupt loss of habitat due to future climate change, they said.