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Where climate change is the most dangerous

2019-09-12T09:43:29.004Z


Extreme heat and drought, but also heavy rains and floods: The World Risk Report has investigated where climate change could have the biggest impact. Especially island states are under pressure.



Climate change causes paradoxical effects: on the one hand, researchers assume that it is responsible for heat records and droughts. On the other hand, he probably brings more and more extreme rains - the consequences are flooding.

In sum, climate change aggravates water supply problems. This presents people around the globe with a wealth of challenges. This is the conclusion of the new global risk report presented by the "Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft" and the Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Berlin.

The "Alliance Development Helps", in which several relief organizations have joined together, has published the World Risk Report for six years. Researchers are not just looking at how often countries are statistically hit by natural disasters, but also how well prepared they are.

According to the World Risk Index, which this year analyzes the disaster risk of 180 countries through a combined analysis of natural hazards and vulnerability of society, the most vulnerable regions are Oceania, Southeast Asia, Central America, and West and Central Africa.

Alliance Development Helps

The three countries with the highest catastrophe risk as a result of extreme natural events are the island states of Vanuatu, Antigua and Barbuda and Tonga. In total, ten island states are among the 15 countries with the highest catastrophe risk, as they are particularly exposed to natural hazards such as sea-level rise, floods, cyclones and, in some cases, earthquakes.

The country with the lowest disaster risk worldwide is Qatar, the continent with the lowest risk in Europe. Germany occupies place 163.

Of the countries with the highest social vulnerability, 13 are in Africa. This means that problems in the water cycle in these countries can have the most devastating consequences for people's coexistence. First in the list is the Central African Republic, followed by Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Eritrea.

The impact of climate change, according to the report, exacerbates water related problems not only in arid areas but worldwide. Extreme natural events such as droughts in the Horn of Africa, cyclones with floods in southern Africa or in Asia bring decades of established processes in the water supply to its limits.

In the case of extreme natural events and violent conflicts, depending on the situation, it can be even more difficult than in crisis-free times to ensure a secure water supply.

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The World Risk Index makes clear again that a very high risk from natural events does not necessarily mean a very high risk. For example, the Netherlands is particularly threatened by sea-level rise, but has good opportunities to limit its risk, for example through coastal protection. This puts the country in only 77th place in the index.

To reduce the risk of the most affected countries, the report's authors demand not only local action, but also more international cooperation.

"Without the will of the international community to meet the climate goals agreed in Paris, civil protection authorities and local initiatives such as the planting of mangrove forests to curb coastal erosion, local early warning systems and evacuation exercises by local groups will have limited success," it said Report continues. In addition, measures would have to be implemented across the board and be available, in particular, to the poorest of the poor.

Source: spiegel

All tech articles on 2019-09-12

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