Saturday , November 16 2024

Heat wave somewhere, heavy rain somewhere… Climate change wreaked havoc in Asia including India

New Delhi: Asia, including India and its neighboring countries, will suffer the most devastation due to climate change and natural disasters in 2023. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday released the State of Climate in Asia-2023 report, which claimed that the highest economic losses and deaths are caused by floods and storms. Heat wave in 2023 has also caused a lot of damage. There have been 110 deaths in India in April and June. Floods have especially affected India, Yemen and Pakistan the most. Also, most of the deaths due to natural disasters have occurred in floods.

Asia vulnerable to floods
It can be assumed that Asia in particular is becoming the most vulnerable region to floods. In 2023, 80 percent of the damage will be caused by floods and storms in Asia. Cyclone Moka in the northern Indian Ocean basin made landfall in Myanmar on April 14, killing 156 people. Many incidents of heavy rain were seen in Pakistan in 2023. From June to August, 600 people died due to floods and storms in India, Pakistan and Nepal. The Glacial Lake Outlook Flood (GLOF) flood caused the bursting of lakes formed by melting glaciers in northern Pakistan.

Wheat production decreased due to heat
According to WMO, the longest and most severe monsoon period was observed in Southeast Asia from April to May. Barring East Asia from north to China, Bangladesh was worst affected by the heat wave. 2023 was Asia's second hottest year. This year was 0.91 degrees above the average temperature of 1991-2020 and 1.87 degrees above the average temperature of 1961-1990. Due to the heat, wheat production in India has reduced, and the government has also had to change its old plan for the global supply chain of wheat. This means that climate change is increasing food insecurity.