According to a new report issued by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, between 350 and 500 medium to large-scale disasters occurred worldwide annually over the past two decades, indicating that this is five times more than the average during the previous three decades.
With climate change, catastrophic events caused by droughts, extreme temperatures and devastating floods are expected to occur more frequently in the future, according to AFP.
The report of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimated that by 2030, 560 disasters will occur around the world annually, an average of 1.5 disasters per day.
The report added, in a statement, that the sharp rise in the number of disasters globally can be attributed to “a misperception of risks based on optimism, downplaying importance and a sense of invulnerability,” according to AFP.
He estimated that this leads to policy, financing and development decisions that exacerbate vulnerabilities and put people at risk.
For her part, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohamed, warned in the statement that ignoring the great dangers we face “puts humanity in a spiral of self-destruction,” according to the French agency.
Ignoring the risks has come at a heavy price, with the report finding that disasters around the world have cost nearly $170 billion annually over the past decade.
However, most disasters occur in low-income countries, which lose an average of 1 percent of their GDP to disasters annually, compared to just 0.1 to 0.2 percent in the richest countries.
The report pointed out that the Asia and Pacific regions suffer the largest economic losses, noting that with the increase in the number of disasters, the costs will also rise.
The report estimated that another 37.6 million people will live in extreme poverty by 2030 due to the effects of climate change and disasters.
It is noteworthy that most of the losses related to catastrophes are not covered by insurance companies. Since 1980, only about 40% of losses have been covered globally, but the percentage declines in developing countries to less than 10%.
“Disasters can be prevented, but only if countries invest time and resources to understand and reduce their risks,” the head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Mami Mizutori, stressed in the statement, as reported by AFP.
But she cautioned that “by willfully ignoring risks and not taking them into account in decision-making, the world is effectively financing its destruction.”
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