Asia worst hit by disasters in 2023: WMO

In the year 2023, Asia faced the most disasters in the world as 79 events associated with extreme weather, climate, and water-related hazards, affecting over nine million people in the region and claiming over 2,000 lives, as per a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Key-highlights of the Report (Climate Disaster Profile)

• Report Title: State of the Climate in Asia 2023
• Asia has warmed faster than the global average and the warming trend has nearly doubled since the 1961-1990 period.
• Key climate change indicators such as surface temperatures, glacier retreat and sea level rise will have major consequences for Asia, its economy and ecosystems.
• In India alone, severe heatwaves in April and June resulted in about 110 reported fatalities due to heatstroke.
• In August 2023, India experienced a record-high monthly mean temperature and exceptional rainfall deficit, which can be linked to El Niño
• Floods were the leading cause of death in reported events in 2023 by a substantial margin.

1: Dimension- Significance of the Report

The report sheds light on the alarming frequency and severity of climate-related disasters in Asia, emphasizing the urgent need for proactive disaster management strategies.

• Urgent Call to Action: The findings underscore the pressing need for concerted efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change and enhance resilience to extreme weather events in Asia.
• Strengthening Disaster Management: Effective disaster management strategies, including early warning systems, infrastructure resilience, and community preparedness, are imperative to minimize the loss of life and property during disasters.
• Regional Collaboration: Given the transboundary nature of climate-related disasters, regional cooperation and information sharing are essential for fostering a collective response to the climate crisis.

2: Dimension- Disaster Management in India:

• Disaster Risk Management implies the systematic process of using administrative decisions, organisation, operational skills, and capacities to implement policies, strategies and coping capacities of the societyand communities to lessen the impact of natural hazards and related environmental and technological disasters.
• Disaster risk reduction aims to reduce disaster risks through systematic efforts to analyse and reduce the causal factors of disasters.
• Pre-Disaster risk reduction includes-Mitigation and Preparedness
• Post-Disaster risk reduction includes-Rescue, Relief and Recovery

3: Dimension- Required Steps/Initiatives

• Increase the coverage of early warning systems
• Climate proofing infrastructure
• Invest in disaster risk reduction
• Building climate and disaster resilience at the sub-national level 
• Integrating possible climate change impacts into the 2005 Disaster Management Actand other existing national frameworks and SOPs.