Kolkata tops global climate change risk rating; Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi listed as 'high risk' areas
A third of humanity, mostly in Africa and South Asia, face the biggest risks from climate change but rich nations in northern Europe will be least exposed, according to a report released on Wednesday.
Bangladesh, India and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are among 30 countries with "extreme" exposure to climate shift, according to a ranking of 193 nations by Maplecroft, a British firm specialising in risk analysis.
Five Southeast Asian nations — Indonesia, Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines and Cambodia — are also in the highest category, partly because of the rising seas and increasing severe tropical storms.
Maplecroft's tool, the Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI), looks at exposure to extreme weather events such as drought, cyclones, wildfires and storm surges, which translate into water stress, loss of crops and land lost to the sea.
How vulnerable a society is to these events is also measured, along with a country's potential to adapt to future climate change-related hazards.
Of 30 nations identified in the new report as at "extreme" risk from climate change, two-thirds are in Africa and all are developing countries. Africa is especially exposed to drought, severe flooding and wildfires, the report says.
"Many countries there are particularly vulnerable to even relatively low exposure to climate events," said Charlie Beldon, coauthor of the study.
Weak economies, inadequate healthcare and corrupt governance also leave little margin for absorbing climate impacts.
At the other end of the spectrum, Iceland, Finland, Ireland, Sweden and Estonia top the list of nations deemed to be least at risk. With the exception of Israel and oil-rich Qatar and Bahrain, the 20 least vulnerable countries are in northern and central Europe. China and the US, the world's No1 and No2 carbon emitters — are in the "medium" and "low" risk categories, respectively. In a parallel analysis of major cities at risk, Maplecroft pointed to Dhaka, Addis Ababa, Manila, Kolkata and the Bangladesh city of Chittagong as being most exposed.
Three other Indian metropolitan areas — Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi — were listed as being at "high" risk.
"Vulnerability to climate change has the potential to undermine future development, particularly in India," Beldon observed.
Recent studies — reviewed in a special report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), due out next month — point to strengthening evidence of links between global warming and extreme weather events.
Loading
Click Here to Subscribe For FREE SMS Alerts on Disaster Awareness
OR SEND SMS " ON DISASTERAWARENESS " TO 9870807070
OR SEND SMS " ON DISASTERAWARENESS " TO 9870807070
Refresher Training of CERT by FOCUS
Thursday, October 27, 2011
India at ‘Extreme’ Risk from Climate Change
THAT SINKING FEELING A devotee washes his clothes after a ritual dip in the polluted waters of Yamuna in New Delhi — REUTERS
Posted by Unknown at 9:58 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Popular Posts
-
Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's ( BMC ) shoddy job with paver blocks has not only dotted Mumbai's streets w...
-
It's the "transition period" that is causing a stink in three wards in the city: N (Ghatkopar), S (Bhandup) and T (Mulund). Wi...
-
Mumbai: Climate change and reckless development are leaving Mumbai increasingly vulnerable to the elements. A news report on an ongoing clim...
-
Mumbai: The city has seen an alarming 61% rise in the number of abortion cases over the past three years, according to the BMC statistic...
-
Disaster Awareness: TOLL FREE NUMBERS
-
Dear Friends , We all carry our mobile phones with hundreds of names/ numbers stored in its memory but yet nobody, other than o...
-
IMPORTANT A stock clerk was sent to clean up a storeroom in Maui, Hawaii. When he got back, he was complaining that the storeroom was really...
-
Fire Brigade's Ladders Reach Up To Only 68 Metres. In June, 78 Proposals For 70-Metre-Plus Buildings Were Cleared Sunday's f...
-
In a pro-people move, the state government is accepting requests from big housing societies and corporate houses to set up unique identi...
-
DETHRONING TOILET SEAT London: The toilet seat is believed to be the dirtiest item in the average household, but scientists say the filt...
Disaster Management In India on Dipity.
Slide Presentation
TO GET FREE ALERTS ON MOBILE SEND SMS " ON DISASTERAWARENESS" TO 9870807070
Custom Search
0 comments:
Post a Comment