UN: Extreme Weather to Blame for 2 Million Deaths in Last 50 Years
2023-05-26
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1The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its latest report that extreme weather caused more than 2 million deaths over the past 50 years.
2Weather and water-related events also caused economic damage estimated to cost $4.3 trillion around the world over the same period.
3The United Nations weather agency said the economic damage continues to rise.
4But it says improvements in early warning systems have helped reduce casualties.
5"Economic losses have soared. But improved early warnings and coordinated disaster management has slashed the human casualty toll over the past" 50 years, the WMO said in a statement.
6The weather agency, based in Geneva, Switzerland, has repeatedly warned about man-made climate change.
7It says rising temperatures have increased the number and intensity of extreme weather events.
8These include floods, storms, extremely hot weather and a lack of rain.
9The WMO said most of the economic damage between 1970 and 2021 took place in the United States.
10The damage there totaled $1.7 trillion.
11However, 90 percent of the deaths worldwide took place in developing countries.
12The agency said developing countries suffered a high cost when the size of their economies is considered.
13WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said Cyclone Mocha showed how at-risk countries "bear the brunt of weather, climate and water-related hazards."
14The powerful ocean storm swept across Myanmar and Bangladesh this month.
15"In the past, both Myanmar and Bangladesh suffered death tolls of tens and even hundreds of thousands of people," he said.
16"Thanks to early warnings and disaster management these catastrophic mortality rates are now thankfully history."
17"Early warnings save lives," he said.
18The WMO identified nearly 12,000 extreme weather events in its Atlas of Mortality and Economic Loss from Weather, Climate and Water-related Hazards.
19It is an update to a report, which covered a nearly 50-year period through 2019.
20WMO admits that the number of disasters could have risen because of increased reporting on extreme weather events.
21The agency also said that the reports could underestimate the economic damage.
22In Africa, the WMO counted more than 1,800 disasters and 733,585 deaths related to extreme weather, including flooding and storms.
23The U.N. agency said the costliest was Tropical Cyclone Idai in 2019, which reportedly caused $2.1 billion in damage.
24Nearly 1,500 disasters hit the southwest Pacific, causing 66,951 deaths and $185.8 billion in economic losses.
25Asia faced over 3,600 disasters, costing 984,263 lives and $1.4 trillion in economic losses, mostly due to the impact of cyclones.
26South America had 943 disasters that resulted in 58,484 deaths and over $115 billion in economic losses.
27Over 2,100 disasters in North America, Central America and the Caribbean led to 77,454 deaths and $2 trillion in economic losses.
28Europe had nearly 1,800 disasters, leading to 166,492 deaths and $562 billion in economic losses.
29Earlier in May, the WMO said world temperatures are likely to rise 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2027.
30The U.N. agency said that was a dangerous level, which could result in deaths and damage to the world's ecosystems.
31I'm Jill Robbins.
1The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in its latest report that extreme weather caused more than 2 million deaths over the past 50 years. Weather and water-related events also caused economic damage estimated to cost $4.3 trillion around the world over the same period. 2The United Nations weather agency said the economic damage continues to rise. But it says improvements in early warning systems have helped reduce casualties. 3"Economic losses have soared. But improved early warnings and coordinated disaster management has slashed the human casualty toll over the past" 50 years, the WMO said in a statement. 4The weather agency, based in Geneva, Switzerland, has repeatedly warned about man-made climate change. It says rising temperatures have increased the number and intensity of extreme weather events. These include floods, storms, extremely hot weather and a lack of rain. 5The WMO said most of the economic damage between 1970 and 2021 took place in the United States. The damage there totaled $1.7 trillion. However, 90 percent of the deaths worldwide took place in developing countries. The agency said developing countries suffered a high cost when the size of their economies is considered. 6WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said Cyclone Mocha showed how at-risk countries "bear the brunt of weather, climate and water-related hazards." The powerful ocean storm swept across Myanmar and Bangladesh this month. 7"In the past, both Myanmar and Bangladesh suffered death tolls of tens and even hundreds of thousands of people," he said. "Thanks to early warnings and disaster management these catastrophic mortality rates are now thankfully history." 8"Early warnings save lives," he said. 912,000 extreme weather events 10The WMO identified nearly 12,000 extreme weather events in its Atlas of Mortality and Economic Loss from Weather, Climate and Water-related Hazards. It is an update to a report, which covered a nearly 50-year period through 2019. 11WMO admits that the number of disasters could have risen because of increased reporting on extreme weather events. The agency also said that the reports could underestimate the economic damage. 12In Africa, the WMO counted more than 1,800 disasters and 733,585 deaths related to extreme weather, including flooding and storms. The U.N. agency said the costliest was Tropical Cyclone Idai in 2019, which reportedly caused $2.1 billion in damage. 13Nearly 1,500 disasters hit the southwest Pacific, causing 66,951 deaths and $185.8 billion in economic losses. 14Asia faced over 3,600 disasters, costing 984,263 lives and $1.4 trillion in economic losses, mostly due to the impact of cyclones. 15South America had 943 disasters that resulted in 58,484 deaths and over $115 billion in economic losses. 16Over 2,100 disasters in North America, Central America and the Caribbean led to 77,454 deaths and $2 trillion in economic losses. 17Europe had nearly 1,800 disasters, leading to 166,492 deaths and $562 billion in economic losses. 18Earlier in May, the WMO said world temperatures are likely to rise 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2027. The U.N. agency said that was a dangerous level, which could result in deaths and damage to the world's ecosystems. 19I'm Jill Robbins. 20Hai Do adapted this Associated Press report for VOA Learning English. 21___________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23casualty -n. a person hurt or killed in an accident, disaster or war 24soar -v. to reach very high levels 25slash -v. to cut sharply 26toll -n. a total number of people who were killed or injured in an accident, or destructive event 27brunt -n. the heaviest or most harmful part of something 28hazard -n. a dangerous or destructive incident 29catastrophic -adj. extremely disastrous