Editorial: Hotspot of disasters

No other region experiences more climate disasters than Asia, which has warmed faster than the global average since 1960

Year after year, the climate crisis is deepening, and the signs are there for everyone to see. The consistent warning signals can be ignored only at our own peril. According to the latest report of a United Nations weather agency, Asia is the worst affected by climate change and accounts for the highest number of disasters. No other region experiences more climate, weather and water-related disasters than Asia. More ominously, most countries in the region don’t have the required tools to mitigate climate change impact. Asia has warmed faster than the global average since 1960, the World Meteorological Organisation’s 2023 ‘State of the climate in Asia’ report says. The Asian continent is struggling with extreme climate events like floods and heatwaves, with record-breaking temperatures and precipitation reported across its countries. More than 2,000 people were killed and over nine million were affected by extreme climate events across Asia in 2023. More than 80% of these events were related to storms and floods. The report also noted an alarming gap between climate projections and the ability of Asian countries to adapt to and mitigate climate change and its impacts. The findings for India are particularly sobering. Heat waves, floods and landslides took a heavy toll on life in the country. Warnings issued by scientific studies for more than a decade ring true — people living in coastal areas, mountainous regions, and even the plains are all vulnerable to climate vagaries. Unfortunately, the ravages caused by heat, rain and floods are yet to become campaign issues for political parties.

While India has historically demonstrated commendable resilience in responding to floods, storms and droughts, the new and escalating challenges posed by climate change — such as unprecedented heat waves, the retreat of glaciers and rising sea levels — reveal that our preparedness is alarmingly inadequate. The latest UN report highlights India’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. These emerging threats require urgent attention and a strategic overhaul of our current policies and adaptation strategies. Experts have been advocating a model where our communities and local governments are empowered with the necessary resources and policies to effectively combat these evolving climatic adversities. Developing countries in Asia bear the brunt of climate-related adversities without adequate means to combat foreseeable disasters and their worsening impacts. International solidarity and financial support from wealthier nations are imperative to empower these countries to build resilience and respond effectively to inequitable climate impacts. Asia also has energy security-related demands and its members, particularly the developing ones, have different sets of requirements and cannot be clubbed with more prosperous nations in terms of meeting the climate goals. The ongoing global efforts to tackle the climate crisis reveal that the outcomes have been far from satisfactory. In fact, experts have been warning that the time is fast running out to protect the planet from the catastrophic climate crisis.

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