General, Research, Technology

Which countries will be most affected by climate change?

Despite all the attention in the last yearthe world community was chained to the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, human civilization is threatened by a much more insidious enemy - climate change. The melting of Arctic ice in the near future may lead to the submersion of entire cities, such as Venice, under water. Moreover, residents of some regions are gradually beginning to feel the intense impacts of climate change, manifested in the form of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, flash floods and wildfires, which cover an increasing area every year. Climatologists predict that there is no doubt that climate change will affect all countries in the world, but its consequences will differ from country to country. In this article, you will find out which countries will be hardest hit by climate change.

Rapid climate change threatens our civilization

Content

  • 1 Consequences of climate change
  • 2 Japan
  • 3 Germany
  • 4 Madagascar
  • 5 India
  • 6 Sri Lanka
  • 7 Kenya

Climate change consequences

As the Oxford Economics report says,climate change will also have a detrimental effect on the global economy. By 2050, our planet may warm up by 2 degrees Celsius, which will greatly reduce global GDP, and among the worst-affected countries will be the poorest countries in Africa and Asia. In the long term, if temperatures continue to warm and rise by 4 degrees Celsius by 2100, this could lead to a reduction in global production by up to 30%.

From 1999 to 2018, severe weather has killed approximately 495,000 people worldwide.

According to Germanwatch (Environment and Development Organization) estimates The hardest hit areas from climate change were Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti between 1999 and 2018.

This means that the consequences of extremeweather events hit the poorest countries hardest (and will hit in the future - as estimated by climate models). In the same report, Germanwatch experts also detail which countries were most affected by extreme weather events in 2018, giving some insight into which regions of the planet may be most vulnerable to climate change in the future.

See also: What will the world be like in 2050 if climate change does not stop?

Japan

In 2018, Japan suffered from threeextremely severe extreme weather events. Thus, the abnormal amount of precipitation in July led to torrential rains, flash floods and landslides, as a result of which more than 200 people died and more than 5,000 homes were damaged, and 2.3 million people were evacuated. Damage from storms amounted to more than $ 7 billion.

Typhoon Jebi was the worst typhoon to hit land in the country since Typhoon Yancy (1993).

Abnormal heat did not bypass the CountryRising Sun, which killed 138 people, and more than 70,000 people needed hospitalization. Then, in September, Typhoon Zebi hit the country, becoming the most intense tropical cyclone Japan has seen in more than 25 years. Jebi has broken several historic records for sustained winds in Japan, causing economic losses of more than $ 13 billion. My colleague Ramis Ganiev spoke in more detail about this event.

Germany

One of the most amazing countries that hitOn this list, it was Germany, which experienced abnormally high temperatures in 2018 - the period from April to July was the hottest ever recorded in the country.

Abnormal heat waves in Europe may soon become commonplace

The heat has killed more than 1,000 people. In addition, after heavy rainfall in January,during the summer, only a fraction of the normal rainfall fell, leaving much of the country's soil affected by the drought in October. About 8,000 farmers were forced to apply for federal emergency assistance worth about $ 1.18 billion to compensate for the losses.

To always be aware of the latest news from the world of popular science and high technologies, subscribe to our news channel in Telegram.

Madagascar

The wind speed reached 140-190 km / h. More than 54,000 people have been forced to flee their homes, the National Office for Risk and Disaster Management said.

In January 2018 to the eastern part of the islandCyclone Ava hit Madagascar, flooding cities and collapsing buildings, killing 51 people. Ava was followed in March by Cyclone Eliakim, which affected more than 15,000 people, including 17 dead and almost 6,300 temporarily missing. Together, the two cyclones caused a total of 70,000 people to seek refuge.

India

Monsoons in India are getting harsher

The annual monsoon season, which runs from Juneto September, strongly affected India in 2018, especially Kerala state - 324 people died due to drowning or being buried in landslides caused by the worst flooding in a century. More than 220,000 people were displaced from their homes, while 20,000 homes and 80 dams were destroyed. The damage amounted to $ 2.8 billion. Thus, with wind speeds up to 150 kilometers per hour, Cyclone Titley killed at least eight people and left about 450,000 people without electricity.

Sri Lanka

Monsoons, along with abnormal rainfall, pose a serious threat to residents of coastal regions

The island state of Sri Lanka, locatedjust off the coast of India, faced heavy monsoon rains in May 2018, affecting 20 areas, especially the South and West coasts. The provinces of Galle and Kalutara were hit hardest, with over 6 inches of rainfall in 24 hours - the area typically receives an average of 11 inches of rainfall throughout May. At least 24 people have died, over 170,000 have been injured and nearly 6,000 have been displaced.

This is interesting: Climate change initiated a new Great Migration

Kenya

The floods have caused serious damage to infrastructure, residential and office buildings.

Seasonal rains have affected both African countriesKenya and Rwanda as well as other East African countries. From March to July 2018, Kenya received almost twice as much rain as the normal rainy season. The country's most important rivers in the Central Highlands overflowed, affecting 40 out of 47 counties and causing 183 deaths, 97 injuries and more than 300,000 displaced.