Climate-Related Disasters in Asia and the Pacific
Thomas, Vinod; Albert, Jose Ramon G.; Perez, Rosa T. | July 2013
Abstract
Natural disasters are on the rise worldwide. There are more and more intense natural disasters—which are defined to cause at least 100 deaths or to affect the basic survival needs of at least 1,000 people—resulting from floods and storms as well as droughts and heat waves. The Asia and the Pacific region has experienced some of the most damaging disasters in recent decades, with alarming consequences for human welfare. At the same time, the climate in the region has been changing. Temperatures have been higher, on average, and also more variable and more extreme. Rainfall has also been more variable and more extreme. Is there a relationship between these changes in climate and the increase in natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific? This paper considers three main disaster risk factors—rising population exposure, greater population vulnerability, and increasing climate-related hazards—behind the increased frequency of intense natural disasters. In a regression analysis within a model of disaster risk determination, there is a significant association is between the increase in natural disasters and population exposure, represented by population densities. Population vulnerability also matters, but increasing incomes seem to be associated first with greater and then lesser vulnerability. Finally, there is a significant association between climate-related hazards (greater precipitation linked to floods and storms and especially higher temperature linked to droughts and heat waves) and the frequency of intense natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific and its subregions during 1971–2010. Along with the scientific association between greenhouse gases and the changes in the climate, the findings in this paper suggest a connection between increasing natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific and man-made emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Citation
Thomas, Vinod; Albert, Jose Ramon G.; Perez, Rosa T.. 2013. Climate-Related Disasters in Asia and the Pacific. © Asian Development Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/11540/2311. License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.ISSN
1655-5252
Keywords
Environmental Impact Assessment
Environmental Health Hazards
Environmental Guidelines
Environmental Services
Environmental Costs
Environmental Conditions
Environmental Action Plans
Environmental Cleanup
Project Evaluation
Program Evaluation
Project Evaluation & Review Technique
Agricultural and Environmental Sectors
Project Evaluation
Program Evaluation
Performance Evaluation
Environmental Surveys
Environmental Statistics
Environmental Planning
Environmental Management
Environmental Education
Nature Protection
Landscape Protection
Program management
Environmental disasters
Environmental disasters
Oil spills prevention
Life support systems
Global environmental change
Extreme environments
Ecological disturbances
Balance of nature
Ecological risk assessment
Land degradation
Glacial erosion
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Citable URI
http://hdl.handle.net/11540/2311Metadata
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