Geneva:

Asia was the world’s most disaster-prone region from climate and weather hazards in 2023, the United Nations said on Tuesday, with floods and storms leading to loss of life and economic losses.
Global temperatures hit record highs last year, and the UN’s weather and climate agency said Asia was warming at a particularly fast pace.

The World Meteorological Organization said the heatwave’s impact in Asia is becoming more severe, with glacier melt threatening the region’s future water security.

The WMO said Asia is warming faster than the global average, with temperatures last year nearly two degrees Celsius higher than the 1961 to 1990 average.

“The findings of the report are serious,” WMO chief Celeste Saulo said in a statement.

“Many countries in the region experienced their hottest year on record in 2023, with a barrage of extreme conditions ranging from droughts and heat waves to floods and storms.

“Climate change increases the frequency and severity of such events, profoundly affecting societies, economies and, most importantly, human lives and the environment in which we live.”

The State of the Climate in Asia 2023 report highlighted the accelerating rate of key climate change indicators, such as surface temperatures, glacier retreat and sea level rise, and said there would be serious impacts on the region’s societies, economies and ecosystems.

“Asia remains the world’s most disaster-prone region by weather, climate and water-related hazards in 2023,” WMO said.

Heat, melting and flooding

Asia’s annual mean near-surface temperature in 2023 was the second highest on record, 0.91°C above the 1991–2020 average and 1.87°C above the 1961–1990 average.

Particularly high average temperatures were recorded from western Siberia to central Asia and eastern China to Japan, the report said, marking Japan’s hottest summer on record.

Rainfall was below normal in the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush mountain range in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Meanwhile southwestern China suffered from drought, with below-normal rainfall in almost every month of the year.

The high-mountain Asia region, centered on the Tibetan Plateau, has the largest amount of snow outside the polar regions.

Over the past few decades, most of these glaciers have been retreating, and at an accelerated pace, the WMO said, with 20 of 22 monitored glaciers in the region showing sustained mass loss last year.

Sea surface temperatures in the northwest Pacific Ocean in 2023 were the highest on record, the report said.

‘Urgent’ for action

Last year, Asia recorded 79 disasters associated with water-related weather hazards. Of these, more than 80 percent were floods and storms, with more than 2,000 deaths and nine million people directly affected.

“Floods were the leading cause of death by a significant margin in recorded events in 2023,” the WMO said, noting Asia’s continued high level of vulnerability to natural hazard events.

Hong Kong recorded 158.1 millimeters of rain in one hour on September 7 – the heaviest since a typhoon began in 1884.

The WMO said there is an urgent need for national meteorological services across the region to improve information relevant to officials working to reduce disaster risks.

“It is imperative that our actions and strategies reflect the urgency of these times,” Saulo said.

“Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to an evolving climate is not just an option, but a fundamental necessity.”

(Other than the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)