EXTREME weather, driven by climate change, hit every populated continent in the world in 2019, killing, injuring and displacing millions of people and causing billions of dollars of damage, according to a new report.
Counting the Cost 2019: a year of climate breakdown, from Christian Aid, identifies 15 of the most destructive droughts, floods, fires, typhoons and cyclones of the past year, each of which caused damage of more than $1 billion (£769m).
The report said several of the figures were likely to be underestimated as some included only insured losses and did not take into account lost productivity and uninsured losses.
READ MORE: Australian PM refuses to shift on climate change policies
It said the billion-dollar disasters were linked with human-caused climate change which, in some cases, made the particular event more likely or stronger, for example with Cyclone Idai in Africa. In others, the event was the result of shifts in weather patterns – like higher temperatures and reduced rainfall that made fires more likely or warmer water temperatures that supercharged tropical storms. The most financially costly disasters were wildfires in California, which caused $25bn (£19.2bn) in damage. Floods in Northern India, which killed 1900, caused the greatest loss of life.
Dr Adelle Thomas, director of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of the Bahamas and one of the lead authors of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report, said: “In small island developing states, such as The Bahamas where I’m from, we’ve experienced first-hand the repeated devastation caused by the climate crisis.
“Most recently, the record-breaking Hurricane Dorian destroyed lives, livelihoods and our sense of security. This was unfortunately not an isolated event, as multiple hurricanes in recent years have resulted in unprecedented devastation throughout the Caribbean region.”
Sally Foster-Fulton, head of Christian Aid Scotland, added: “In the year that Scotland signed one of the world’s most ambitious climate change acts, this report is a stark reminder about the urgency of climate action.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel