SHOCKING! Over 1.3 lakh Indians died due to extreme weather disasters, climate change in 50 years

According to data from the World Meteorological Department, a specialised agency of the United Nations, Asia reported 3,612 disasters attributable to weather, climate and water extremes, with 9,84,263 deaths and USD 1.4 trillion in economic losses.  

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. Over two million people died as a result of 11,778 documented catastrophes worldwide, and there were USD 4.3 trillion worth of economic damages during this time. More than 90% of recorded deaths globally took place in underdeveloped nations.

The World Meteorological Department issued the new findings for the quadrennial World Meteorological Congress which opened in Geneva in Switzerland on Monday. 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.

Extreme weather, climate, and water events were the cause of 3,612 catastrophes in Asia, which resulted in 9,84,263 fatalities and USD 1.4 trillion in economic damages.

Tropical cyclones were the top cause of recorded deaths between 1970 and 2021, accounting for 47% of all deaths reported globally. The WMO reported that tropical storm Nargis in 2008 caused 1,38,366 fatalities.

According to the data, Bangladesh had the largest number of human deaths (5,20,758) in Asia as a result of 281 incidents. Between 1970 and 2021, 573 calamities are said to have killed 1,38,377 persons in India.

1,839 disasters in Africa resulted in 7,33,585 fatalities and USD 43 billion in economic damages. 95% of the deaths that were reported were due to droughts. The most expensive incident to take place in Africa was tropical hurricane Idai in March 2019 (USD 2.1 billion).

Meanwhile, according to a paper published by experts from the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, in 2017, the frequency of extreme weather events, such as floods and heatwaves, is expected to increase significantly in India in the future as a result of climate change.

The El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a recurrent climatic phenomenon including fluctuations in the temperature of waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, and climate change, according to the study, would both greatly enhance the danger.