Climate-related disasters in Asia and the Pacific

Climate-related disasters in Asia and the Pacific [1]

Natural disasters are on the rise worldwide. There are more and more intense natural disasters—which are defined to cause at least 100 deaths or to affect the basic survival needs of at least 1,000 people—resulting from floods and storms as well as droughts and heat waves. The Asia and the Pacific region has experienced some of the most damaging disasters in recent decades, with alarming consequences for human welfare. At the same time, the climate in the region has been changing. Temperatures have been higher, on average, and also more variable and more extreme. Rainfall has also been more variable and more extreme. Is there a relationship between these changes in climate and the increase in natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific? This paper considers three main disaster risk factors—rising population exposure, greater population vulnerability, and increasing climate-related hazards—behind the increased frequency of intense natural disasters.

Publication Date:

01/07/2013

Author(s): Vinod Thomas [2], Jose Ramon G. Albert [3], Rosa T. Perez [4]

Source: Asian Development Bank [5]

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