Climate change and disasters

ACT International, the global alliance for emergency relief of which CWS is a member, is already confronted with a growing number of disasters that are caused or aggravated by climate change. The severity and frequency of weather-related natural disasters such as storms, heavier rains, floods, droughts and heat-waves is worsening.  

As disasters increase poor people suffer most, because they are forced to live in disaster-prone areas. They have the least resources to cope with extreme weather events. The repetitive disasters erode the self-reliance of people and make them reliant on outside help for food and other supplies. The rising sea level and increase in desertification will make many more people homeless.

Over the last 20 years, the number of geophysical disasters – earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions – has remained steady while the number of climate-related disasters – including droughts, windstorms and floods – has increased dramatically.

From 1987 to 1998, the average number of climate-related disasters was 195. From 2000 to 2006, the average was 365, representing an increase of 87 per cent.  The UN estimates that all but one of its emergency appeals for humanitarian aid in 2007 was climate-related. The Annual Disaster Statistical Review 2008 reported a continuing upward global trend in natural disaster occurrence observed over the last decade. Hydrological and meteorological disasters were the main contributors.

In 2008 natural disasters
•    Killed more than 235 000 people
•    Affected more than 214 million people
•    Cost over 190 billion US$.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warns that the effect of climate change is already straining the disaster relief system. The threat of extreme climatic events in the future is likely to generate higher demands for disaster assistance that will prove more costly.