Climate Change

Between 1960 and 2007, extreme temperature events had increased 25-fold, followed by a 10-fold increase in floods, a 4 fold increase in storms and a 2-fold increase in droughts. Global mean temperature rose by 0.74°C between1906-2005. Twelve of the thirteen years between 1995 and 2007 rank among the warmest years since 1850. The IPCC also reports that the global sea level rose at an average rate of 1.8 mm per year from 1961 to 2003, in some places even more. A quarter of the world’s glaciers could disappear by 2050 and halve by 2100. Climate and weather extremes may be manifested through sea storms, heat waves, cold spells, smog and wildfire, floods, drought, food insecurity, social disruption, population displacement, and favour transmission and geographical spread of communicable diseases. On average, disasters killed 123,000 people worldwide each year between 1972 and 1996. 83% of all people affected by droughts, 97% of all people affected by flood, and 92% of all people affected by storms between1960 and 2007 resided in the East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia regions. Major natural catastrophes in 1990s, on an average, alone caused economic losses estimated at US$ 66 billion per year at 2002 prices. Economic losses from flooding in the South and South East region, estimated to exceed $300 billion from 1960 to 2008, divert resources from development work, compromising progress toward the Millennium Development Goals. Malnutrition and mental disorders are the consequences of economic loss and/or bereavement, which will aggravate poor school performance and production in occupations which need physical labour.